A chair was broken during Wednesday evening's fight.
Virginia Tech Police Department officers were called in for a fight that broke out Wednesday evening at West End Market.
At least one person was injured in the fight, employees said. Witnesses reported the fight started over a table at the dining hall.
According to Justine Maurer, a senior finance major and student manager at J.P.’s Chophouse, where the fight broke out, trouble arose around 6 p.m. when a man sat at a table another group had claimed.
“Somehow they claimed the table, and the other kid took it,” Maurer said.
Maurer said the approaching student called the seated student a “faggot,” while the seated student replied that the student should “return to his own country,” in reaction to what Maurer described as the approaching student’s “Australian” accent.
The approaching male pushed the seated student, which led to the fight. A small handful of other patrons jumped to break the two apart. Maurer said the fight was over in about 20 seconds.
“By the time I got out there, one guy (the one who had sat at the table) had run out,” Maurer said. “The other guy (who had started the pushing) was bleeding all over the soda fountain.”
Maurer said the approaching student had blood running on his face and his shirt. Blood had also splattered on the nearby drink machine and silverware holder.
Maurer said she and another student manager had to stop several students who were attempting to reach around the bleeding student for silverware and drinks.
“People just aren’t very perceptive,” Maurer said.
James Leggett, an assistant manager at the restaurant, said the area was bleached down, which is standard procedure when bodily material, like blood, gets on common surfaces.
The damage from the fight was limited. A single wooden chair had the top of its back splintered open.
“Wood chips were everywhere,” Maurer said.
She said the Wednesday fight was the first she had seen at the dining hall.
Mark Bratton, executive chef at West End Market, called the fight “kind of sad.”
“I’ve been here 10 years, and I’ve never seen anything like that,” Bratton said.
The identities of the individuals in the fight or the extent of their injuries has not been confirmed. A call left with Tech Police Wednesday evening was not returned.
A version of this article appeared in the Oct 14 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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Compared to what happened in Au Bon Pan or Norris Hall, the actions of the Australian were tame.
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You are a terrible person.
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No one was killed, that's better than what happened in Au Bon Pan. Zhu just grabbed a knife and sawed thru the poor woman. This guy just broke a chair back.
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Oh look at mr edgy over here :rolleyes:
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I feel that you really didn't need to bring up that up at all. While obviously what you said is valid it is also very insensitive. Please keep further comments of a similar subject to yourself.
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Yeah Hitler didn't kill as many as Stalin. I think Stalin beat him by several million.
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"You stole my table. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."
Get real, children. This is grown up time. You don't fight over a table.
You man up, and move to another table if you aren't either sitting there,
or have your personal belonging placed on the table.
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It probably had a lot more to do with the "return to your own country" comment. Learn to read and think, child.
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The comment that was a direct response to the "faggot" comment? Why not learn to read the whole article, kiddo.
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As soon as he said 'faggot', the police should have been called and he been arrested for a hate crime. What is the world coming to?
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As long as you don't infringe on people's freedoms, you're free to call anyone anything. There's no crime in that; you won't be punished for it. The punishment you may receive as a result of your stupidity is another question entirely, ie. blood spilling down your face and shirt. Moral is: it's a frickin table. Neither of them should have reacted as they did. Grow up.
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He initiated the conflict, used the term 'faggot', and pushed first. Regardless of outcome, this is a hate crime by todays standards and he should be charged with assault.
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In fact, this is not a hate crime, as the person using the derogatory term was not motivated by hate for the gay community when he intended to strike, or knew with substantial certainty that an injury would occur from his actions. This would not be considered a hate crime by any court in the United States and claiming it as such is pure ignorance.
People like you are the reason I still have a job, so that my clients can keep YOU from trampling their rights, Mr. Hate-Crime alledger.
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Actually, the consequences can go deeper than that. Are you aware of the recent suicides due strictly to bullying. Children as young as 13 have hung and shot themselves over being called "faggot" and "queer." How can we let this continue to happen? While I agree with you that we won't be punished and that freedom of speech is a basic right present in our constitution, some things are simply wrong to say.
Let me pose to you this question: instead of the "australian" returning to the table and demanding his seat back, what if he took his stuff off the table, looked at the guy in his seat and said, "I know this dining hall is busy and its hard to find a seat. That's why I am giving you mine."
what kind of response do you think the guy at the table would have to that? I don't know if there is one. And the best part about that is, yes the "australian" would now have to find another seat, but imagine how much better he would feel after responding like that. Plus, that would make the guy at the table think hard about what he did and he may be convicted to never do that again, or even follow the "australian's" example. Pretty crazy to think about right?
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its not a hate crime unless the kid really was gay.....
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1) Its not a hate crime, people are free to say anything they want, as long as they do not threaten WITH MEANS to carry out the threat. Calling someone "faggot" carries means to do what?
2) In Virginia, there is no way to charge someone with "Assault". One can ONLY be charged with "Battery" which is the "unwanted touching of another.
3) That was malicious wounding, not "assault".
4) You're not an attorney more than likely.
5) This whole thing was over a table, the only insult the approaching kid could come up with in a quick amount of time was "faggot".
6) The entire event was simply sad. It's a table, I've had to find another table many many times in West End, Owens, etc, move on- literally.
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1) Its not a hate crime, people are free to say anything they want, as long as they do not threaten WITH MEANS to carry out the threat. Calling someone "faggot" carries means to do what?
2) In Virginia, there is no way to charge someone with "Assault". One can ONLY be charged with "Battery" which is the "unwanted touching of another.
3) That was malicious wounding, not "assault".
4) You're not an attorney more than likely.
5) This whole thing was over a table, the only insult the approaching kid could come up with in a quick amount of time was "faggot".
6) The entire event was simply sad. It's a table, I've had to find another table many many times in West End, Owens, etc, move on- literally.
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Virginia used to outlaw "fighting words," which were considered inflammatory and likely to incite violence, and not protected by the First Amendment. I'm not sure if the ban is still on the books. If so, it would seem apply in this case, since the word "faggot" has such a negative connotation and is provacative in nature. I recall a guy getting cited for cursing at a meter maid in the Squires parking lot back in 2000 or 2001. No physical violence was involved, but the meter maid interpreted the cursing as an implied threat. Weak, but on the books as a prosecutable offense at the time.
As others have said, this fight was not a hate crime, and should have been a minor blurb on the police blotter. The CT article would have been better simply stating that an altercation broke out over the use of a table, referencing the juvenile nature of the fight, indicating an injury and minor property damage, and then making commentary on space availability at West End. Oh well, hopefully folks will move on soon.
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Why are homosexuals entitled to more protection than I am?
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And it's only a "hate crime" if someone yells "faggot", but not if the supposed faggot is a xenophobe and tells someone to go back to his own country? Double-standard hypocrite.
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ur unreal chief
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Are you seriously suggesting that we ought to live in a country where we could all be arrested for calling someone a name, even in a non-threatening context? Are you KIDDING me!? Do you know the first thing about the laws of this country or about a little thing called Constitutional rights?
Calling someone a "faggot" is not a crime in any context. It's absurd that any group should be granted special protection against anything, let ALONE just being called a name! Why are bigoted motivations for doing something more punishable than generally hateful or psychotic ones?
Our Constitution and all laws based on it are there to protect your freedoms and occasionally your safety, but never your feelings. It's people like you that make me legitimately fear for the future of this country.
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thank God someone actually knows what they're talking about.
i completely agreee
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You are all missing the point. The dining halls are way way too crowded. People should be able to sit down and eat the food that they paid for without having to fight for a table.
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Here here! I would support the decision to lower the freshman class down to 3500 or less until all the construction on dorms and dining halls are completed in the year 3000.
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There was supposed to be an expansion with more seating for West End Market in 2010, yet was put off due to budget cuts and economy..
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It's "Hear Hear" as in "Hear him, Hear him"
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I think people should stop trying to "claim" tables by just putting a bookbag or something there before actually going through the lines. In the time it takes to get food, someone else who already has food could eat and leave.
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True that, true that. The problem is a lot of people at this university feel they are more entitled than everyone else and don't consider anything but themselves.
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I agree with that. How the F can anyone claim a table by putting your bag down? Please try that in the city. Your bag will get stolen or thrown out of the chair while someone takes the seat. Stupid college kids think they can claim something by putting their bag in a chair.
Its no different then those idiots standing in a parking space trying to claim it so their friend can drive around. Thats how you get run over
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So let me get this right: if I want to go to West End to buy food so I can sit down and eat it there, I should buy the food first, then possibly get stuck standing around waiting for a table? That doesn't seem reasonable either. Maybe the dining department should come up with a more creative solution.
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yeah i was idiot sorry for insulting what you probably study. trust me i know what happened
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USA USA USA England Sucks!
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My faith in humanity dwindles a little bit more every day...
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There are so many bros at this school that I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.
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Calling someone a faggot doesn't mean they are one. Also, he might have been asking if he liked Welsh food.
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The best-known commercial brand is Mr Brain's Faggots, a frozen food product available in Britain, which is made of liver and onions rolled into meatballs and served in a sauce. These faggots differ significantly from the traditional recipe.
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Hahaha good point, and the kid WAS from England. Everyone is talking about whether or not saying "faggot" is a hate crime, which it isn't in this context, but what about being told to go back to your own country? How would this be viewed if the British kid was, say, a Muslim from Iraq? If this were the case, nobody would be freaking out about the use of the common term "faggot", but instead about telling a foreign student to go back to his own country... not very VT-like if you ask me.
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Calling someone a faggot isn't a hate crime in any context.
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The real issue here is one between civility and violence; it's not a hate crime, it's simple assault. We learn in kindergarten, you don't bite and you don't hit. People just need to grow up and have more home training. The use of "faggot" and "return to his own country" are just verbal insults, hitting someone is where the line is drawn, in my opinion.
Welcome to college... now grow up.
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these guys should be kicked out simply for the fact that they continue to give Virginia Tech a bad name. wow, i thought we were all adults now... apparently not...
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This belongs on the onion
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While the entire fight situation is dumb, it does bring up a good point. West End is just too small, probably the smallest of the popular dining places. I've gone there many times and not only can you not find a table most of the time, it's also hard to move around. It's tolerable if you go between standard meal times like in the afternoon. I heard they were planning to expand it, however I don't think it'll do much.
Just too many people here per sq/ft of space in dining halls.
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it brings up another point... don't set your F-ing bag down to claim a seat. You get your seat after you get your meal
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I really hope those two people read this article and are ashamed. We're not in middle school anymore.
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Good job guys, way to stay classy. These students should be expelled. But perhaps the bigger issue is that people like this got accepted in the first place. Says a lot about the University.
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one of these kids was a wrestler and lets just say this isn't the first time a wrestler has stirred up some trouble using physical acts of violence.
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As an alumni, this saddens me. I'm not sure what the worst part of the story is... 1) That West End and all of the other dining halls are all overcrowded 2) That both sexual and ethnic discrimination was involved or 3) That these kids are acting like a bunch of high school students. Grow up.
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It saddens me that you supposedly graduated from VT and don't know that you're an alumnus, not an alumni
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"...That both sexual and ethnic discrimination was involved..."
False. Calling someone a name is not tantamount to discrimination.
How are there so many ignorant people at (or from) this school?
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Really? Really? Really? Yeah I ask 3 times because I cannot believe what you said...calling someone a name is not discriminatory? Could you explain that a little better because by your definition the dictionary is wrong: "discrimination: treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit (so in other words, calling someone a derogatory word used to malign homosexuals, non-US natives/citizens--like in this case, or beyond such as their gender, race, age, ethnicity, etc...would be discriminatory).
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(Slams hand against forehead)
Yes, I stand by what I said, and I can't believe this argument is even happening. Legally speaking or even logically speaking, in order for there to be a case of "discrimination", the offenders have to KNOW that their "victim" belongs to a group they don't like and treat them that way FOR THAT REASON. In this case, the kid called "faggot" may or may not have been gay. Secondly, hatred for a particular group is NOT why either insults were used. They were said in anger over a TABLE.
In the real world, you can't run to your boss/judge crying, "Discrimination!!" unless you are actively and repeatedly treated unjustly in a way that is clearly directed against you and not others for a reason having to do with something beyond your control. These two would have called anyone anything if someone else had taken their table. If either yelled at me for taking their table and called me the c-word, I wouldn't go crying to someone in authority claiming I was "discriminated against", because that's clearly not what was going on. Also, I'm not a whiny, self-entitled moron.
Does that "explain [it] a little better"?
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Next week Imma start a fight in Owens...they really need to serve spaghetti and meatballs more often
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My favorite part is the kids that attempted to get drinks despite blood being every where. Someone really loves orange soda.
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I am disappointed by the lack of respect people have for each other. You make yourself as well as the university look bad by writing offensive things on this site. I understand that by being anonymous it makes it possible to truly get your thoughts across with out the fear of being personally attacked for your beliefs or views but that does not mean you should be able to be rude and offensive.
All I ask is that before you post please think about what you are going to be saying.
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Let's not be socially awkward. Share your table with others if you have open seats. Offer someone to sit down if they appear to be looking for a seat. Be good patrons and good hokies.
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If only everyone had that kind of class. I wish we were all friendlier to each other in general. This whole country.
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Mommie its a hate crime, its a hate crime, fix it for me. Geez guys grow up. Quit looking for fairness in life. Its a hate crime its a hate crime. Its a crime that people don't know how to deal with situations except to holler "its a hate crime its a hate crime" This is the most entitled, protected, hovered over generation in our history.....its a hate crime its a hate crime....mommie mommie help me its a hate crime.....grow up.
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This might be the worst article I have ever read. First of all, the writer included way to many off topic ideas, followed by useless quotes. I thought I was reading an Onion article satiring how hyperbolic an extremely mundane interpersonal event can be. Firstly, the inclusion of the negative words that caused the fight is completely unecessary. Why in the world would a normal reader want to see what two people they do not know called hateful words? how does that benefit anyone? Secondly, This minor incident should only be reduced to a minor blurb. Not only is the style of writing terse and akward for a news journalist, but it fails to convey data relevantly, making it seem more macabre then informative. How one gets to associate news editor without the rudimentary skills required to write an average article befuddles me.
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ditto. I cannot agree more.
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Article Hater - we probably should have gone to uva. There's less befuddling there.
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"LOOK AT ME I OWN A THESAURUS"
-Article Hater
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It amazes me how easily influenced heterosexuals are by the term 'faggot'.
It is as though hetero-men have so little self-esteem and security that anything questioning their perceived 'manhood' is fight worthy.
What a lot of idiots.
This is how homophobia hurts everyone.
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It's Always BO Time!
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Many of you are saying how ridiculous it is that these kids acted out in rage when it came to a table in West End, but look at all the anger flying around this comment wall. People leaving simple opinions and comments are being blown out of proportion to the point of argument. My point is: It's very hypocritical to criticize the suspects in this article while fighting about who's opinion is right.
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Wow I cannot believe I just read all this garbage from fellow Hokies. I guess everyone is just a hateful e-thug in this day and age. Shake my head.
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