Virginia

New series at Virginia Tech to engage students across different viewpoints

Published

2 years ago

May 19, 2022

New series at Virginia Tech to engage students across different viewpoints

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Participating our youngest voters in a time of disinformation. That’s the thought behind a brand new program at Virginia Tech the place college students study why their voice issues after which can interact in significant conversations throughout totally different viewpoints.

“If we will get school college students registered to vote and within the behavior, then they are going to be energetic voters and residents from then on,” mentioned Beth Obenshain with the League of Ladies Voters in Montgomery County.

The group partnered with Virginia Tech for a dialog on girls and politics.

“One of many issues we wish is for school college students and youthful voters to comprehend that they’re a robust block if they simply get collectively and register and imagine that their vote issues,” mentioned Obenshain. “Who you choose as mayor and city council most likely has extra fast affect in your life than who you vote for as president of america however that’s a really exhausting message.”

Nevertheless it’s a message that college students like sophomore Elisha KC need their friends to listen to.

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“Change comes from voting. They discuss this and that and that, however they’re not voting out right here. They’re not like civically engaged. None of my associates had been again at residence and I need to make that an vital factor in every single place, even on campus,” mentioned KC, who can also be a part of the Hokies Vote Caucus.

This occasion is a part of deliberative dialogues. The sequence began this semester.

Opal Lee, often known as the grandmother of Juneteenth, was at Tech speaking to college students earlier this 12 months.

“I believe you’re seeing a gaggle of scholars which are motivated, you already know, we now have Ut Prosim because the college motto,” mentioned Jes Davis, VT Assistant Director for Management and Civic Engagement.

These are boards the place Davis says everybody can find out about points and variations.

“I believe we’re seeing much more divisiveness in society broadly. There’s loads of mis and disinformation that’s on the market. This enables college students to return collectively, have a dialog a few matter and actually form of stroll away and assume by means of ‘What does this imply for my neighborhood?’ As a result of we additionally know that options look totally different for each neighborhood, proper? It’s not going to be the identical. So how can we discuss by means of what these appear to be for our neighborhood right here?” mentioned Davis.

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“I really feel like our younger minds are essential as a result of we’re not going to see change with out voting and from voting, we’ll see change sooner or later, you already know,” mentioned KC.

Davis says Virginia Tech is beginning a citizen democracy management program within the fall semester. It can educate college students about what does democracy appear to be? What does it appear to be to be civically engaged?

We’ll have extra later this month in our Solutionaries sequence on how Virginia Tech has 90% voter registration on campus.

This story is a part of a sequence referred to as “Solutionaries,” the place we got down to discover progressive methods individuals are working to battle issues we’re all going through. Inflation, inexpensive housing, the local weather disaster, and far more. You will discover hours of tales right here.

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Virginia

Virginia Remains On Top

Published

6 hours ago

November 1, 2024

Press Room

— By Katie Farthing

Read on for some of the ways Virginia is ranked tops:

Our college life

USA Today rated Charlottesville and Williamsburg as two of the best small college towns in the nation thanks to their rich history, beautiful scenery, and fun daily life.

Our beer

Staunton has the 10th best small town beer scene, according to USA Today.

Our museums

We’re home to the 7th best free museum in the nation, designated by USA Today. The Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax lets visitors write song lyrics and mix mountain music, as well as see live performances.

Our small town food scene

Abingdon may be mini in stature, but it’s high in the small town food scene—number 3 in the country to be exact, according to USA Today.

Our niche neighborhoods

Uniquely charming and underrated, Colonial Village in Arlington is the best place to live, according to Niche. It’s all thanks to a lively nightlife, beautiful parks, highly rated-schools, and a young population of residents.

Our airports

Dulles International Airport is the 11th best in the world and second in the country, according to AirHelp.

This is web-exclusive content from the December 2024 issue.

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Virginia

How Virginia's voter roll purge could impact the election

Published

14 hours ago

October 31, 2024

Press Room

How Virginia's voter roll purge could impact the election

Jude Joffe-Block:

There’s a pattern where people have visited the DMV, and they at some point there must have made a mistake on a form where they identified — they marked a box identifying themselves as noncitizens somewhere in those forms. We’re not really sure how exactly this happens.

But after that visit to the DMV, they got a letter in the mail from their local election official, saying, we think you might not be a citizen. Please affirm your citizenship.

We spoke to a voter, Nadra Wilson, who that letter was sent to the wrong address. It got forwarded. By the time she got it, the deadline had already passed. She was able to re-register. We spoke to another voter, Rina Shaw. She did get the letter in the mail letting her know that she had to affirm her citizenship. And she did send it back.

But, even then, she was still not on the rolls. And she was able to call and sort that out. But all of this does take time. Both of those voters did end up voting early this week, though.

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Virginia

Syracuse football: what to watch for vs Virginia Tech

Published

22 hours ago

October 31, 2024

Press Room

Syracuse football: what to watch for vs Virginia Tech

The Syracuse Orange (5-2, 2-2) welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies (5-3, 3-1)to the Dome on Saturday for a critical ACC match-up. Kickoff is Noon on The CW and here’s what we’re watching for:

Kevin: Protect Kyle

Virginia Tech defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland has nine sacks and seventeen hurries on the season and leads a strong Hokies pass rush. Syracuse needs to keep APR from disrupting their passing game so that Kyle McCord can attack a secondary rated the second-worst in coverage by PFF. Will the Orange use screens and draws to force APR to read and react instead of letting him just tee off and attack McCord? If Syracuse can negate APR’s impact they could score enough to win this one.

Mike: Make the Most of Allen

With Yasin Willis doubtful for Saturday’s game, this could be the first time since last season where LeQuint Allen is leaned on as a bell-cow back. How much that affects the offensive gameplan remains to be seen, but it might incite more designed plays as opposed to the RPO package SU has run very frequently. The o-line is struggling to block effectively on option plays lately so to make sure they can get Allen wide lanes to run through, a more traditional approach could work better this week.

Dom: Keeping momentum up for Syracuse’s 12th man

The Orange are once again back in the Dome for the first time in quite a while (September 28 to be exact). Since then, Syracuse’s road trip resulted in two nice wins over UNLV and NC State, then most recently with a bitter blowout loss. Fans will be looking for the Orange to bounce back against an inconsistent but still tough ACC opponent. Considering it’s also alumni weekend, the Dome should have plenty of seats filled and should look to take care of business.

Max: Keep Kyron Drones in the pocket

VT’s quarterback is extremely dangerous in the running game, racking up over 300 rushing yards through eight games, good for 19th in the ACC. The only conference QBs with more rushing yards are Georgia Tech’s Haynes King and Stanford’s Ashton Daniels, who gave the Orange fits on the ground this year. Syracuse’s rush defense still ranks in the top 50 in rush yards allowed per game, and it will need to keep Drones in the pocket to find some success this Saturday.

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What will you be watching for on Saturday?

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