BLACKSBURG, Va.-- In a day filled with a constant barrage of media images of the shooter who took the lives of at least three of her friends and 29 others,Behnaz Bonyadian took solace as thousands of people patiently filed into Cassell Coliseum and Lane Stadium yesterday afternoon.
The wind howling in the quad of Old Dorms was strong enough to prevent students from lighting their candles as they took part in a vigil for those affected by the tragedy of Virginia Tech. Instead, organizers and first-year College students Katie Welch and Chelsea Cantrell asked the students to move behind Emmet dormitory and form a circle. "Close your eyes and brace yourself against the wind," Cantrell said. For the roughly 80 students in attendance, bracing against the wind meant different things. "I am here because I am hoping to find peace from community," third-year College student Laura Woolley said.
The writers of "Seinfeld" based an entire episode of the hit show on a little-known method of birth control.
University staff members who are classified, salaried employees will see a four percent increase in their December paychecks, thanks to a state-approved salary increase. According to Rod Kelly, director of the office of compensation management, the change will go into effect Nov.
A University environmental science professor has come under fire recently from environmentalists and ethicists after reports surfaced that the professor, who is skeptical of the extent to which humans play a role in global warming, had received money from a coal-burning utility. The New York Times reported in a July 28 story that the Intermountain Rural Electric Association, a coal-burning utility co-operative, gave money to Environmental Science Prof.
In June, the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education put out a draft report proposing the creation of a national database to track information about individual students such as financial aid standing, for students at the nation's colleges and universities. In March 2005, the National Center for Education Statistics put out a study examining "the feasibility of collecting individual enrollment and financial aid information for each student in postsecondary education." The study examined both whether or not such a system could be and should be implemented.
This year's crop of incoming first-years will take in the traditional fare of orientation programming this summer, but with a twist: a new component discussing the potential dangers of social networking Web sites like Facebook and MySpace. During orientation, members of the University's Information Technology and Computing division will talk to students about the potential dangers associated with posting too much information on public networking sites. "There is a balancing act here," said University spokesperson Jeff Hanna.
Following Governor-elect Tim Kaine's inauguration in January, he will enter office with the same GOP-controlled General Assembly and a new Republican in the Lieutenant Governor's office, but the bipartisanship that was a hallmark of the Warner administration is slated to continue. The Virginia Board of Elections officially announced Monday that Democrat Tim Kaine won the gubernatorial contest with 51.72 percent of the votes to beat both Republican Jerry Kilgore and Independent Ross Potts. In the race for lieutenant governor, Republican Bill Bolling bested Democrat Leslie Byrne, earning 50.47 percent of the vote. Republican Bob McDonnell was announced the victor of the attorney general's race, beating Democrat Creigh Deeds by 323 votes.
The race to become the Commonwealth's attorney general is still close, in fact "freakishly close," according to Politics Prof.
The death of millions of birds in Asia has grabbed national headlines for the past few months, prompting concern from governmental officials and doctors alike.
