Another Hokie will be vying for public office while still vying for a diploma.
Paul Cornett, a senior majoring in history and communication, is running for state office. He will challenge Democrat Jim Shuler for the 12th District House of Delegates seat.
Cornett will run as an independent after fulfilling the requirements to run last month.
He said his parents instilled an interest in politics.
"All my life, it's been an interest," Cornett said. "I grew up in a house where my mom and dad were always talking about politics. It's been in the back of my mind for a long time, just something I wanted to get into."
Cornett plans to use an Internet based campaign to stimulate the Blacksburg area.
"I guess it was last year during the election I heard about this guy running for the Kansas state House named Sean Tevis," Cornett said. "He used the Internet in a way no other candidate had before. He used Web comics, Twitter. I thought something like that could definitely work in a college-based town."
However, in addition to a portion of Montgomery County, the 12th District includes Alleghany County, Bath County, Craig County, the City of Covington and a part of Giles County.
"The Internet is the main thing we're pushing for, and that will be really good in Montgomery County and Blacksburg, but we are going to have to go up there and do some actual campaigning in person," Cornett said. "We haven't dealt with everything yet, but we will be making plenty of trips up to Covington, Alleghany, Bath County."
His campaign will use the Internet mainly because it will not accept money for advertising.
"One thing about my campaign, we're not accepting any donations, and we're spending no money on advertising, so that's really going to hurt with the name recognition," Cornett said. "We have some plans to get more of the Tech community involved to help us out up there."
He said the process of getting on the ballot was a trying time.
"I needed to get 125 valid signatures from voters in the 12th District," Cornett said. "After about two weeks, we did it a couple of times, we ended up with about 130 signatures. I brought them into the office and it turned out that only about 70 of them were good. It took a few more tries. In total, I think I got about 300 signatures to get to the required 125."
Cornett's platform is based on civil liberties and education reform, but he will run as an Independent in an attempt to buck the clash of the two party system.
"It's just turned into a big us vs. them thing," Cornett said. "It's really time for independent third parties to get going. Now is the time."
He said he does not believe in government regulation of personal activities.
"The big thing is personal liberties," Cornett said. "We're all for people doing what they want as long as it doesn't effect anybody else. Why should the government tell anyone what to do as long as it just involves them?"
Cornett also hopes to change the ways of Virginia's public schools.
"We also want some education reform," Cornett said. "I was a product of Virginia public schools, so I know the craziness of SOLs and the madness that has taken over the schools here in the last couple years. We really want to overhaul that in the public schools."
On the higher education front, he supports a measure already being taken in California to save money for college students.
"Another thing we are pushing for college is digital textbooks. They've been experimenting in California with them, and it would really help with the prices," Cornett said.
Cornett is the only Hokie currently on the ballot for state office, but Bryce Carter, another current student, is running for Blacksburg Town Council. Recent graduate Michael Sutphin is also running for town council.
Cornett said the recent federal elections seemed to inspire younger citizens around Blacksburg to get involved.
"There was such a big push for the election last year around campus," Cornett said. "You couldn't walk down the street without politics being a big factor."
Due to his youth, Cornett acknowledges that he is not expected to win the election, but said he will continue his political career.
"I'm definitely a long shot in this election," Cornett said. "If I don't get an office this time, I won't be devastated. It won't be the last you hear of me. I can definitely see myself being involved in politics, whether it is in office or, much more likely, doing something behind the scenes."
Shuler, his incumbent opponent, is a 1966 graduate of Tech, and a former member of the Blacksburg Town Council.
He has served in the House of Delegates since 1994.
Cornett said he is not running because he disagrees with the policies of Shuler.
"I can't say there are many differences, because I have a lot of respect for Jim Shuler," Cornett said.
Cornett actually voiced support for the past political decisions of his opponent.
"He's done a lot of really good work and if he gets elected again he's going to continue doing good work," Cornett said.
Cornett plans to begin campaigning in full swing when students return to Tech's campus in August.
His Web site, the centerpiece of his campaign, could be ready by the end of the month.