For the average reader, the most infamous line of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” may be “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” But instead, I’ve found myself repeating the question, “What's in a name?” over and over again in my head.
In 2011, a movement named Occupy Wall Street gained force. Disenchanted with the economic disparity between wealthy and poor Americans, protesters marched and camped in Wall Street’s Financial District for two months. It was a sensational occurrence that took up news headlines and disrupted …
Imagine it’s the first day of classes and you’re in a classroom building on campus. You sit down, maybe near some friends, and prepare for class. You’re so excited for a fresh start to the semester and can’t wait to see what’s in store.
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Course Request opened this week, which means that most students are spending hours deliberating over their ideal schedule for next semester before finally hitting “submit.” Unfortunately, these hours of deliberation don’t result in immediate answers. For the following weeks, students wait as…
According to the university, the purpose of the Virginia Tech COVID-19 Dashboard is to “inform (the) community as well as provide metrics which will be useful in our decision making process related to campus operations.” Indeed, keeping the public informed and guiding decision-making ought t…
Nearly two weeks ago, Virginia Tech President Tim Sands sent an email out to the Virginia Tech community admonishing students for disregarding safe COVID-19 practices. Some students read the email and agreed with the general premise — students certainly could and should do more to protect on…
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It’s easy to envision the stereotypical college apartment: they’re somewhat affordable, small and offer us our first glimpse into life as an adult. Sometimes, they may even be falling apart at the seams. Blacksburg apartments are no exception — students can often feel like they’re forced to …
Meeting people in person is now a health risk, so we turn to dating apps to satisfy our natural hankering for human interaction. Some dating apps have tried to adapt to the times by giving users the option to change their settings to “socially distanced dates with masks only.” It is importan…
In the midst of a pandemic, being home for the holidays and approaching a new semester, conflict may be on the rise in your personal environment. While it may seem easy or more time-efficient to brush any occurring issues aside, being non-confrontational may prove to be more difficult in the…
Attention deficit disorder affects 6.1 million kids in America from the ages of 2 to 11. While this number is staggering in size, the knowledge the general public has regarding ADD is limited. This ignorance hurts the very people who struggle with this disorder.
Essential workers, particularly those working in customer service, have often been the casual target of unpleasant, entitled behavior — and this was before their job title became a well-known phrase. Nearly a year has passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, so by now we are all prof…
After completing the fall semester and exams in December, Hokies now have the time to reflect upon their experience taking online classes. Since classes began on Aug. 24th, many students found themselves taking classes online for the very first time. Although a small percentage initially att…
As the pandemic began, we adjusted our lives to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Now, almost a year later, we are coming to terms with another major change. To minimize the risk of an increase of cases, Virginia Tech has rolled out a new policy that replaces a week-long spring break with…
In light of the novel coronavirus, Virginia Tech has proposed new plans for spring break 2021. Tech’s new schedule will feature five one-day breaks in the months of February, March and April. This is meant to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by preventing students from traveling, and while t…
On Oct. 19, 2020, Virginia Tech announced its plans for the upcoming semester. The university confirmed that the spring semester “... will start and finish as originally planned…” but the traditional five-day long spring break in March will be canceled in favor of five days off spread across…
The right to vote is a foundational element of democracy, and a particular point of pride for Americans. The reality, however, starkly contrasts this professed dream for Virginians. Virginia is one of three states that continues to permanently deny the right to vote for citizens convicted of…
VA House Bill 1863 introduced by Delegate Hurst (D-VA 12th District) to limit student housing in the Town of Blacksburg is exclusionary zoning. Students are not a protected group under the Fair Housing Act; therefore, we are easy targets for these types of regulations that would allow the to…
Growing up, we are told to eat our vegetables so we can become healthy and strong. We groan and complain, but eventually accept that our parents have our best interests in mind; so, we begrudgingly take a few bites of the green stuff we detest. We may have even secretly liked that green stuf…
A Virginia Tech junior walks into the house and puts her bags down. She starts unpacking and quickly realizes she left her laptop charger at home. “Crap.” She quickly checks her laptop to see that it is at 5% battery; she has an assignment due at midnight. For the rest of the day, she goes t…
Virginia Tech’s central method of gathering student feedback on teaching is falling short. The university must change the composition of the SPOT survey if it wishes to value student feedback.