March 3, 2020

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March 3, 2020

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Misconceptions of Greek life distract from efforts

W

Negative stereotypes surrounding fraternities and sororities overshadow their service in the community.

hen you hear the word “fraternity,” what are your initial thoughts? Do you jump to quick conclusions about social habits or a lack of academic discipline? It’s okay if you do –– you’re not alone. Around the country, a growing movement has one message: Greek life has no place on a modern college campus.

Here’s why they’re wrong.

Ro Settle is the director of fraternity and sorority life at Virginia Tech. Appointed to the position this past summer, he has been at Virginia Tech for about 20 years in various positions, most of which relate to Greek life.

He said that his main job is “advancing the missions of fraternity and sorority life through our external campus and community partners, as well as internal partners like chapter presidents, volunteers that work with organizations and council leaders.”

During our conversation, Settle used a word that struck a chord with me. Each chapter on campus is assigned a “coach,” who is an adult faculty member whose job is to guide the chapter through the semester. This term serves to represent something more –– a true commitment by the university toward the success of Greek life. Virginia Tech is emerging as a leader in a number of areas, and it is proving its concrete commitment to fostering a truly healthy Greek environment.

Greek life contributes to Virginia Tech in a number of meaningful ways.

According to information shared by Settle’s office, men and women in Greek life on campus completed over 48,000 hours of community service in the last academic year. They raised $943,000 for causes like domestic violence awareness,

childhood literacy and breast cancer awareness. Their community-wide 3.29 GPA average was higher than the average GPA for all undergraduates at Virginia Tech in the spring of 2019. Personally, my time at Virginia Tech has exposed me to many new groups and types of people, including Alpha Tau Omega, a social and leadership development fraternity on campus.

On the other hand, it is certainly true that at times, individual members of the Greek community have abused their privileges and made a mockery of what Greek life ought to be. This behavior is unacceptable. It serves as a reminder of what we shouldn’t be, and inspiration to reach for what we should be –– a beacon of academic, social and lifelong service and success.

Kevin Foust is the newly appointed associate vice president of safety and security at Virginia Tech. He previously served as chief of the Virginia Tech Police Department and spent extensive time working in the FBI. His presence and experience is invaluable to the Blacksburg community.

Officer Foust’s time as chief of police led to some keen insights on the Greek life community at Virginia Tech.

“There’s a lot of wrong ideas out there about Greek life,” Foust said. “There’s a lot of prejudging … the danger becomes when people who don’t bother to do their own research, who don’t bother to find out the real story, assume, many times wrongly, that that’s the way it is everywhere and that’s the way it is with every fraternity and sorority –– it is not; I have seen the exact opposite here at Virginia Tech.”

Officer Foust and I also discussed his

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recent transition back to suit and tie, as he did while serving as director of the FBI office for Western Virginia. One of his observations about his time in uniform at Virginia Tech was running into general misconceptions and negative feelings toward law enforcement, and being on the receiving end of a myriad of hurtful and offensive comments. We discussed an interesting parallel between law enforcement and the fraternity scene. In many cases, the actions of few control the perception of many. There is no doubt that around the country, and even around Virginia Tech’s campus, there are self-absorbed actors who selfishly tarnish the reputation of fraternities and sororities. Allowing these actions to dominate dialogue around the subject is not only a shame, but is an affront to the overwhelming majority of fraternity and sorority members who spend these four years investing in organizations that strive to benefit so many around them.

I call on anyone associated with a college community, especially ours in Blacksburg, to analyze your past conceptions and biases and consider whether they are really telling the true story. With full

community support, imagine the steps Greek life can take to better the lives of each member of these organizations, and more importantly, our wider Blacksburg community.

JOE LICHTENSTEIN • freshman • political science

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March 3, 2020 PAGE 3

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SGA presidential debate focuses on mental health and reworking organization structure Victoria Dashevsky and Blake Barnhill are running for vice president and president of SGA, Feb. 26, 2020.

ANISHA KOHLI / COLLEGIATE TIMES

Students took the stage to discuss their platforms as potential candidates for SGA president and vice president.

MACKENZIE WILLIAMS news reporter

Three executive tickets took the Haymarket stage Wednesday, Feb. 26, to discuss their plans as potential president and vice president of the Student Government Association at Virginia Tech.

Each platform emphasized different focus areas the university could improve upon with their leadership.

“There are opportunities to expand academic support,” said vice president candidate Chapman Pendery, a junior studying computer science. Pendery and his running mate, Adil Sageer, a junior majoring in computational modeling and data analytics, proposed bulking up academic tutoring services in all departments as a way to harness this support.

Sageer and Pendery believe that working alongside the Student Success Center, encouraging students to apply to tutoring positions and better advertising of these services can promote undergraduate success.

“One of the main things I am working on with our director of mental health services is increasing fall break at Virginia Tech,” said Blake Barnhill, a junior in computer science running for president.

In addition, Barhill and vice president candidate Victoria Dashevsky, a junior in packaging systems and design, focus on extending the break to alleviate the surge of students admitting to Cook Counseling Center upon return.

“One of the things we see at Cook Counseling Center is an increase in lines and waits after the fall break to the Thanksgiving time period. This means that students can’t be seen as regularly,” Barhill said.

Sexual assault was another discussion point of the debate which presidential candidate Manasha Bhetwal, a junior in international relations and international public policy, and her running mate Brogan Dineen, a junior studying economics, addressed in their platform.

They suggested implementing a sexual assault bystander program to leaders in organizations and incoming freshmen alike.

“The leaders are the ones who set the tone for the whole organization.” Bhetwal said. “If they go through a bystander sexual assault training, they know how to handle these situations and bring those ideas with them and pass it on. That is where it starts.”

Candidates also shared a concern

for the current structure of the Student Government Association and expressed their desire to reinstate the organization as an effective institution for change in daily student life.

Dashevsky suggested having a different way of appointing members as a way to reform SGA’s current power dynamics.

“It shouldn’t be fair that only a singular individual or few singular individuals get to appoint everyone,” Dashevsky said.

“People should be able to run for SGA whether it means an executive position or a college representative.”

Furthermore, Bhetwal acknowledged that SGA is struggling to be a united force.

“I don’t think the executive branch should have as much power over the legislative branch as it is right now within the general assembly,” Bhetwal said.

Underrepresented communities within the student body took hold of the conversation. Bhetwal and Dineen included their ongoing interactions with organizations like Virginia Tech Asian American Student Union and HokiePRIDE to incorporate their representation within SGA. Pendery and Sageer emphasized their campaign is working alongside Muslim Student Association to include their organization in the conversation.

The debate also questioned how SGA will improve awareness of the organization’s role in university policies.

“Rebranding the Hokie Effect to make it more SGA –– We really want to market Hokie Effect as an SGA program so students know that SGA is really trying to do stuff,” Dashevsky said.

Environmental policies were at the forefront of the debate, in which all candidates shared a similar mission to keep the university accountable for energy policies and work alongside environmental activist organizations on campus.

Students can vote on Gobblerconnect.

Voting will be open until 3:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28.

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March 3, 2020 PAGE 5

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March For Our Lives brings hope and action to Virginia Tech’s campus The Virginia Tech chapter’s goal is to prevent catastrophes like the Parkland shooting in 2018.

CAREY OAKES lifestyles staff writer

The Stoneman Douglas High School shooting took place on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2018. The shooting left 17 high-schoolers injured and 17 tragically murdered. Aubrey Dosky, a junior majoring in political science, was one of the millions who were outraged by the appalling event, so much so that she decided to begin the March For Our Lives chapter at Virginia Tech.

As Dosky scrolled through Twitter in the aftermath of the shooting, she was shocked to see the students post videos of the scene. “Before, you would hear about (shootings), but you would never actually see it,” Dosky said. The videos and the brave students who came forward to speak about the tragedy received backlash.

“People were getting so mad at these kids for posting it, because it’s very graphic, but we’ve become so desensitized that I think we almost need to see that,” Dosky said. “It made me realize there is a huge issue.” It forced people to reconcile with a tragedy that has unfortunately become all too frequent.

Upon coming to Virginia Tech, Dosky scrolled through the lengthy GobblerConnect pages in search for a March For Our Lives chapter only to have no success. “The only other club on GobblerConnect is Students for Concealed Carry on Campus,” Dosky said. “We’re hoping to partner with them at some point. We want to do an opposing viewpoint meeting, because March For Our Lives is nonpartisan; We want to get that across, because it can come across as a liberal organization, but it’s not.”

Given Tech’s history with gun violence, Dosky was shocked to realize that no club existed that was even relevant to the topic.

It was just over a decade ago on April 16, 2007, that 32 students were killed outside of Tech’s Norris Hall and West Ambler Johnston Hall: a tragedy that has infamously gone down not only in Hokie history, but U.S. history as well.

The Virginia Tech chapter of March For Our Lives.

Dosky was inspired to continue the March For Our Lives movement to prevent shootings like those in Parkland or at Virginia Tech in the future. She then decided to gather two friends to begin Virginia Tech’s very own March For Our Lives chapter.

While March For Our Lives approved a chapter at Virginia Tech relatively quickly, it took Dosky until November of 2019 to get approved recognition as an on-campus club. March For Our Lives’ mission is to save lives from being lost to senseless gun violence. The organization focuses heavily on legislation and garnering the attention of the youth vote by hosting various booths around campus, such as the Pledge to Vote event in Squires on Feb. 28.

Currently, they have 35-40 members, but she feels as if active participation is somewhat discouraging. “It takes a lot

for someone to have dedication to a club, especially this one knowing you could get backlash,” Dosky said.

The organization itself has received hate on social media, especially on its Twitter @MFOLVT; all hate comments have come from people unaffiliated with Tech. “I’m constantly in communication with our national team/state directors, so whenever we do a Twitter storm, when all the chapters are tweeting and putting hashtags, we’re more of a target,” Dosky said.

She notes that it’s difficult to make progress when others are unwilling to listen. “I’ll listen to your side if you listen to mine,” Dosky said. This, however, is difficult when all such contact is over social media.

The biggest misconception regarding March For Our Lives is that the club is a partisan left-leaning organization that

COURTESY OF AUBREY DOSKY

seeks to abolish the Second Amendment, which it is not. Given that the 2020 election is coming soon, Dosky said in response, “We don’t want to take away your gun rights; we just want it in a safe manner.”

Despite the misunderstandings and the backlash, Dosky is proud that she was able to bring the chapter to Tech in the first place; the organization’s existence sends a message in itself, especially considering the violence here only 13 years ago.

“Just knowing that we have (a chapter) here, that’s, to me, an accomplishment all on its own, because if any school should have one it should be this one,” Dosky said. I don’t know why we didn’t. I’m proud that we offered another perspective to students if they want it.” @CollegiateTimes

sports

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The Collegiate Times’ sports editorial staff makes bold predictions about this year’s ACC Tourney Editors Davis Carbaugh, Claire Castagno and Robby Fletcher predict where teams will fall in this year’s ACC Tournament.

SPORTS SQUAD

Carolina into the later rounds of the ACC Tournament in March.

With the ACC Tournament just a week away, the editors of the sports section took some time to break down a few bold predictions for the coming tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Bold prediction #2: Georgia Tech will compete in the semifinals of the ACC Tourney Claire Castagno, assistant sports editor With two games left in the regular season, Georgia Tech currently sits at 15-14. However, the slightly above .500 record does not reflect how dangerous this team can be. The Yellow Jackets had a tough non-conference schedule and lost to Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky and Houston. But, the way the college basketball season has progressed, none of these losses are still considered “bad losses.” Georgia Tech is still playing its best basketball in years, and with no particularly dominant ACC teams this year, this is the year Georgia Tech can make a deep run in the tournament.

Georgia Tech is led by Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe, who both rank in the ACC top 15 in terms of scoring offense.

Alvarado and Devoe both average doubledigits. On the right night, forward Moses Wright can get hot and make playing defense against the Yellow Jackets very frustrating. Wright scored 33 points in Georgia Tech’s close loss to Syracuse on Feb. 22.

The Yellow Jackets have not been able to beat Duke, Florida State or Virginia, but have come very close. ACC play has shown us that no game is an easy win in this conference, and upsets are bound to happen on a neutral court in Greensboro.

The seventh-place team can easily knock off teams and find themselves deep in the ACC tournament.

sports editorial staff

Bold prediction #1: North Carolina will make it to day 3 of the ACC Tourney Davis Carbaugh, sports editor If the standings in the ACC stand for the remainder of the season, North Carolina will finish the season as arguably the most dangerous 15-seed in ACC Tournament history. After a season full of injuries, buzzer-beater losses and heartbreak for Roy Williams and the Tar Heels, UNC could be poised for a late season run.

The return of star freshman point guard Cole Anthony is crucial for North Carolina’s season; the Tarheels’ only chance of securing a bid in the NCAA Tournament is winning the ACC. In UNC’s last two games, the Tar Heels defeated N.C. State (5th in the ACC) in Chapel Hill and traveled to the Carrier Dome for a road victory against Syracuse (7th in the ACC). North Carolina finishes the season at home in a winnable game against Wake Forest and on the road against the rival Duke Blue Devils.

While the Tar Heels’ ACC ranking is still up in the air, they are looking at playing on day one as anywhere from a 15 seed to a 12 seed. That will square the Heels up against a lower-level ACC team before facing a team in the middle of the conference on day two if they win.

A day-two matchup against Syracuse is favorable for North Carolina and the Tar Heels could be on their way to a quarterfinal matchup with a top ACC contender on day three. While the Tar Heels’ season has been a major disappointment, lateseason momentum could propel North

Bold prediction #3: Tyrece Radford will m ake the All-Tournam ent Team Robby Fletcher, sports editor

AHMED MUSTAFA / COLLEGIATE TIMES Virginia Tech guard Wabissa Bede (3) attempts to get to the basket as Louisville’s David Johnson (13) guards him. The Hokies dropped the game 68-52 at the KFC Yum Center, March 1, 2020.

While the Hokies may not look like contenders to win the entire tournament, it’d be foolish to bet against them to at least pick up a win or two during their time in Greensboro. And if they do, it’d be hard not to assume that Tyrece Radford was a major reason why. Radford has easily made the biggest strides as a scorer for the Hokies over the course of this season, averaging 13.2 points per game on a 57% shooting clip since his 18-point performance against N.C. State on Jan. 11.

While Radford is still a bit of a one-dimensional scorer, as he’s taken just 11 3-point tries all season, his tenacity getting to the basket and his high-effort rebounding ability has given the Hokies a major burst of energy on the floor time and time again.

With leading scorer Landers Nolley II

struggling the last few games shooting the ball, expect that pattern of high-effort basketball from Radford to continue to lead the team during the tournament.

As it stands right now, Virginia Tech will be playing 14-seed Pittsburgh to start its tournament run; Virginia Tech beat Pittsburgh 67-57 on Feb. 15 with Radford scoring eight points on three-of-five shooting. This is an ideal first-round matchup for Tech, and a strong outing from Radford should be a big momentum boost for Tech’s run into the next round as well as a good chance to bolster his tournament resume. Look for Radford to put up a standout performance for the Hokies to close out this season. @CTSportsTalk

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March 3, 2020 PAGE 7

Despite a season that leaves something to be desired, Hokies still have tournament potential

The loss against Louisville signals the end of the regular season for the Hokies, but strong performances from key players could mean the team still has a chance to nab the title at the upcoming ACC Tournament.

ROBBY FLETCHER sports editor

With its 70-53 loss on the road against No. 5 Louisville on Sunday, Virginia Tech’s regular season has officially come to a close, and despite the 17-point loss, it’s hard not to think of this season as a massive success for the women’s basketball program.

Sitting at 21-8 (11-7 ACC), the Hokies have put together one of the most balanced squads in school history, and one that is very much on its way to the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2006. Even better, it will be the team’s first season over .500 in conference play since the 2003-04 season when they finished 10-6 in the school’s final season in the Big East.

But before even thinking about the NCAA Tournament, where Tech is projected as a seven-seed according to

Charlie Creme’s Bracketology predictions, head coach Kenny Brooks’ team first needs to go through the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina. Now a five-seed in the tournament after dropping the season finale, the Hokies will be getting a first-round bye while they await the result of the 12- and 13-seed first round matchup between North Carolina and Wake Forest.

So just how far can this team go?

According to their ACC resume, a deep run doesn’t seem likely for the Hokies.

Against teams with a conference record that’s .500 or better, they have just a 3-6 record, and against teams in the top-4, they’re only 1-5, with the only win coming against Duke in their home finale on Feb. 27.

However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance. Underestimating a team this skilled would be undermining an entire season of statement wins and incredible individual performances. This is a team that

consists of impact players like Freshman of the Year-candidate Elizabeth Kitley, who is first in field goal percentage and blocks per game among freshmen in the ACC, and Aisha Sheppard, who has continued to build her already historic career as a Hokie by scoring over 1,000 career points in a season where she’s improved in nearly every statistical category.

Beyond those two, the Hokies roster consists of a handful of skilled role players that have proven capable of taking control of games if Kitley and Sheppard are being neutralized. There’s Dara Mabrey, who behind Sheppard, has proven to be a deadly shooter around the perimeter, and Trinity Baptiste, who’s mid-range jumper and inside scoring ability has been a perfect compliment to Kitley’s post-game prowess.

We also can’t forget about Taja Cole, a player who’s pass-first skillset has been crucial to the team’s balanced scoring this season. Virginia Tech hasn’t had a player so

deftly able to find an open shooter, and her ability to punish teams that are slow on the fast break has been huge for the team.

The fact of the matter is, this team has a ton of potential to make a deep run if they play up to that level, even if they’ve struggled against the top teams of the conference. It’s clear this team enjoys playing together; you can see that especially in their post-game interviews, and if chemistry alone won championships, this team would be the favorite, but in a conference as deep as the ACC, they’ll have their hands full with some truly fantastic teams (see: Louisville). One thing’s for sure, coach Brooks’ team has proven this season that they won’t go down easy, and that this is just another test on the road toward the NCAA Tournament.

@RFletcher_VT

PAGE 8 March 3, 2020

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Virginia Tech women’s track wins ACC Indoor Track Championships, men take second place The Virginia Tech women’s track and field program won the team portion of the ACC Indoor Track Championships for the first time since 2008 and the men came up just short of first place.

GLEN RORIE

sports staff writer

Virginia Tech’s women track and field takes the ACC Indoor Track Championships Virginia Tech’s track and field team traveled to Loftus Sports Center in South Bend, Indiana, to participate in the second biggest meet of its indoor season, the ACC Indoor Championships.

On day one, junior Ellie Vest took second place in the women’s pentathlon high jump with a jump of 1.67 meters. Vest also completed the women’s pentathlon 800-meter dash with a time of 2:17.92 and placed first. Vest ultimately placed fifth overall in the pentathlon with a score of 3680. For the heptathlon, sophomore John Manilli took seventh with a score of 4661.

In the men’s weight throw, junior Alexios Prodanas placed fourth overall with a throw of 20.07 meters. To finish out day one, both Virginia Tech’s men’s and women’s DMR relay teams took second place in their respective races. The men’s DMR completed the race with the time of 9:46.28, while the women’s DMR finished their race with a time of 11:08.41.

On day two, the Hokies came back with some heat as two of the team’s runners took home first-place medals and claimed ACC individual titles. Redshirt senior Peter Seufer once again stole the show as he finished first in the men’s 5000 run with a time of 13:58.28. This is now Seufer’s second ACC indoor title. In the women’s 5000 run, Sara Freix won her first ACC indoor title as she completed the race with a time of 16:13.69. Also, in the men’s 5000 run, redshirt junior Fitsum Seyoum placed fifth overall with a time of 14:05.84.

Virginia Tech had three men’s pole vaulters place in the top eight. Sophomore Harrison Rice took home the bronze medal and received third as he jumped 5.28 meters. Freshman Jacob Rice (4.98 meters) and freshman Joey Badalamenti (4.88 meters) placed fifth and eighth with their jumps.

On day three, junior Caitlan Tate took second place in the women’s 200 dash finals as she ran a 23.38. In the men’s 200 dash finals, sophomore Cole Beck also

took the fourth place as he ran a 21.16.

Beck also took fourth place in the men’s 60 dash with a time of 6.68.

In the men’s 1 mile run finals, senior Diego Zarate placed fourth with a time of 4:02.87 and redshirt sophomore Ben Fleming placed sixth with a time of 4:03.40. In the women’s 1 mile finals, senior Sarah Edwards took the gold medal as she ran a strong time of 4:37.11. Senior Lauren Berman was not far behind as she performed her personal best, a 4:38.77 and placed third overall.

Sophomore Jacory Patterson once again dominated in the men’s 400 dash finals as he placed first in race with a time of 45.66. Patterson is now a back-to-back 400 dash ACC champion. On the women’s side of the 400 dash finals, Tate won the 400 dash event with a time of 52.42.

Senior Arlicia Bush came in third with a time of 53.40.

In the men’s 800 dash finals, three Hokies finished in the top eight spots: junior Thierry Siewe Yanga (1:51.83) placed eighth, senior Jack Joyce (1:50.93) placed fifth and redshirt sophomore Bashir Mosavel-Lo (1:50.15) placed second and received a silver medal. The freshman trio of Lindsey Butler, Grace Boone and Hannah Ballowe finished fifth, sixth and seventh on the women’s side of the race. Butler (2:07.77) came in fifth, Boone (2:09.28) placed sixth and Ballowe (2:13.46) finished in seventh.

In the men’s 3000 run, Seufer placed first overall with a time of 7:59.09. With that finish, Seufer took home his third ACC indoor title of his career. Sophomore Antonio Lopez Segura finished third in the event with a time of 8:06.43. In the women’s 3000 run, Freix placed eighth with a time of 9:25.62.

On the field side of things, junior Rachel Baxter won the women’s pole vault with a jump of 4.45 meter. In the women’s shot put, sophomore Essence Henderson put up a strong showing as she took second overall with the throw of 16.66 meters.

In the men’s triple jump, sophomore Chauncey Chambers placed eighth with a jump of 15.60 meters.

The ACC Indoor Championship ended on a high note for the Hokies as the men’s 4x400 relay team placed third in the event with a time of 3:07.79. On the other side, the women’s relay team won their event as the Hokies ran a staggering 3:38.21.

At the end of the meet, the men’s team tally 109 points overall and placed second in the ACC, while the women’s team dominated with a score of 105.5. The women’s team took home the ACC Indoor Championship for the first time since 2008. With the conclusion of this meet, the Virginia Tech track and field team

looks to finish off the indoor season strong at the NCAA Indoor Championships meet taking place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 13-14.

@CTSportsTalk

COURTESY OF HOKIESPORTS Virginia Tech in the 2020 ACC Indoor Track & FIeld Championships