airportCenter9.18.08
The Virginia Tech Executive Airport runway will be "enhanced to the west" within the next five years, said Airport Director Michael St. Jean, affecting the department of dairy science, along with the intramural sports program.
Although the runway ends short of the intramural fields, the safety zone extends in a cone shape toward the west, which will extend over the back recreational fields that are used for flag football, soccer and club softball.
According to the airport's master plan, the expansion will take place to better accommodate corporate air traffic.
As of now, the length of the expansion has yet to be decided. The longer the runway, the farther the safety and protectorate zones will be expanded. Its length will determine the amount of property impacted.
Although airport authorities will cover the expenses of the displaced fields, it is only displacing a quarter of the area being used, which is already inadequate for the size of the intramural program.
Little, if any, money will be lost by the RecSports program during this expansion. However, on top of already limited participation, the number of students allowed to compete in events will decline.
The extension of the runway is "taking away what's been one of the more popular things on campus and reducing it by a quarter," said department of recreational sports director Chris Wise.
As of now, the largest intramural programs are basketball, flag football, softball and soccer, of which all but basketball are impacted by the runway expansion.
"We are crunched for outdoor space right now because of the popularity of the intramural program," Wise said. "We already take a few less (teams) because club softball practices until 6 p.m."
Because of this limited space, intramurals share the fourth softball field with club softball.
The limited space does not apply to only intramural softball but to other major programs as well, including flag football and soccer.
Currently, only 240 teams are allowed to register per sport. This includes men, women and co-ed teams. For all major programs the waiting list ranges from 255 to 404 teams per year.
Because expansion of the recreational fields will no longer be plausible due to the airport, it has been proposed that an entirely new intramural facility be built.
This long-term goal includes hopes for a wagon-wheel style facility. This concept will be used to develop six new softball fields, formed in a large circle resembling a wagon wheel. It will contain a storage building within its center.
Rectangular fields will also be included for flag football and soccer. A facility of this nature would allow more playing opportunities to students who participate or want to participate in the intramural program.
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Great news. As an 08 alum, I was worried that my aircraft would have trouble landing on the runway at the tech airport before football games.
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but we haven't finished replaceing every patch of grass with concrete on campus yet! Glad I went to a university that focuses on its students, and not a research center that bends over for corperate america.
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Wow. I'm not a self-absorbed college kid who only thinks about if I can play flag football-(what's that gigantic grass-covered oval in the center of campus?)-I'm just one of those 'local working people' who's job depends on that frivolous research center that VT built on the south end of town. You know the one, it employs more than 2,000 people in steady, well-paying jobs and has helped to spur several thousand more jobs in my local industrial parks. Silly me, for thinking the small size of Blacksburg - roughly 3 miles wide by 7.5 miles long and surrounded by nothing but National Forest, farmland, mountains and valleys-could accommodate less than 100 acres to lengthen a runway that is used as much for Corporate + Business needs as it is by alums flying to games. Or that some of that shared acreage will allow for more businesses to grow so job opportunities grow. But that's just me, a silly adult working person. Apologies for the inconvenience.
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Just how stupid are VT students? So stupid that they don't see anything beyond their own needs. Forget that VT's research generates income to pay for their dining halls, and those massive parking lots? Those are for parking your cars...the one's you race around town, running each other down in drunken texting incidents, hit and run manslaughters, cross walk smack downs. All that construction, oh that's so you can learn something other than how to get blitzed and have fights downtown-you know, all of that holier-than-tho-i'm-so-superior-because-i'm-a deprived student business. Excuse me, I'll just step aside so you can b-tch and moan about every little thing since mom and dad are paying the bills. But that's what 'smart' college kids do anyway, right? Get over yourselves. Some of you are about to graduate into the worst economy in 50 years. Intramurals are just about the last thing you should be thinking about. Grow up. It's a rough place out here in the real world.
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"Cross walk smack downs"--Brilliant!!
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Wow. I am not even a college student anymore, 07 alumni, but even I am offended by M. Smith and Phillip Marshall. Way to take EVERY possible college student stereotype there is and fit it into your ARROGANT rants. Not every college student has mom and dad footing the bills, not every one of us blew threw crosswalks, and only one (that I know of) had a drunk texting accident. And part of the reason they're graduating into the worst economy in 50 years is because of the SPEND, SPEND, SPEND ways of the baby boomers! Living on credit and not saving a penny. So thanks, thanks for that and thanks for letting us know our generation is SCREWED b/c no one has done anything over the past thirty years to secure a future.
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Chill out, it's an article that informs the student body of a change on campus that'll affect intramural sports programs, in which students participate in droves every semester. It's in the Sports section of the paper too, so I don't know how the heck you could freak out about any sort of relevance in lieu of other topics, considering the subject matter...An article about sports on campus, in the sports section? Who'd have thought that?!
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Sounds like you are the ones freaking out because someone called you out on your on-going complaining. I'm just stating an opinion on what's printed in the CT regularly. Weekly there is some article about how students are a second thought at VT. Mind you, those are articles written by students based on student reactions. So, it's very easy to shift the blame to 'others'. The point is - had any of the sarchastic 'student' opinions preceding mine been based on what was Actually reported here - none of the discussion would even be taking place. And sorry if it offends your sensibility, but the rant by students at VT about how VT is consistently disregarding them deserves a little highlighting and yes, criticism. Because as I so factually stated, the big bad research that VT conducts employs thousands in the community, so if you'd prefer a town full of the unemployed, I'd say you need to take economics 101 and your social policy courses again. You clearly missed them.
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Taylor, that's the (cliché) pot calling the kettle black. Your arrogance equals mine. Ever had a student argue with you over receiving a C because they actually earned it? Yet, they feel entitled to an A. How could that be? Answering your points. The "only drunk texting incident", a crime, injured 8 people. Crosswalks, the news covers at least one every month. That boy killed after being run down by a fellow drunk student, how does that make you feel? Multiple downtown drunken brawls (guns, knives) a great academic achievement. The point; college isn't some camp where you attend a few classes and run amok around our community. It's a place you hopefully respect, and get involved in the community, engage in productive pursuits that better yourselves and the world around you. For the record, (wah) online it's the feature article with a big banner headline, not buried on a sports page. Ryan and Anonymous were the brains who initiated EVERY stereotype possible. You are naive to think VT is here to cater. EVERY university - from Princeton to MIT to Parsons to Stamford to the U of Chicago – is a business focusing on teaching and research. They are here to get you to learn something, develop ideas, solutions, technologies that can be used in the real world and yes, generate income to pay for all that you as a student are able to enjoy. Peace out. Be happy. Go do something good for the world.
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If this article actually had some basis in being anything but what appears to be a well sourced piece that informs a huge segment of the papers readership of goings on around campus, then maybe your complaining would hold some merit. As it stands your comments (p.m) are laughable, and completely out of situational context, because the author doesn't even include any material based on first-hand student opinion, nor does said author editorialize, or present anything other than relevant information, supported with quotes from credible sources - it's the antithesis of what qualifies as a "rant" It's like you're mad at the world or something because the local student newspaper prints stories on a topics seen relevant to students...
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M. Smith and Phillip, you are forgetting that this town revolves around the university. Without the university and the students you wouldn't have your precious little job at the research center, and Blacksburg would be a ghost town. These rec sports are creating a healthy and active environment for students and getting them off the couch. If you know anything about planes and runway lengths you should know that the airport can already handle a wide variety of aircraft. God forbid a billionaire can't fit their G550's here or google can't land there 767. Doesn't Roanoke, only 45 minutes away by limo, have an airport capable of handling larger jets? Many students can't wait for rec sports every year, but maybe you just don't understand that sitting in your lab because you were always the fat kid picked last. Enjoy your thickburger, and have a nice day.
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It's obvious the students are just getting in the way of Tech's real goals.
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Tech students pay a significant student activity fee that should entitle them to have available and meaningful student activities. Even without this elimination of a quarter of the intramural fields, students are being denied the opportunity to participate in something they paid for. And now it will be worse. As a public institution, this university is supposed to serve the residents of Virginia who pay taxes to support it as well as the students and families who pay tuition and fees to attend it. A longer runway that takes over intramural fields or the Agricultural college's dairy barn only serves the jet-set and maybe Steger's ego. Is he getting access to a bigger plane now? Well, then, let's definitely do it.
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If the residents of Blacksburg want a bigger airport, then tell your town council to levy the taxs to fund it, find the land for it, and buid it yourselves. Stop treating Tech like your free meal ticket.
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Sorry field users, the needs of the many are greater than the needs of the few, or the one. Thank Mr. Spock for this wisdom.
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