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October 20, 2020
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PHOTOS BY ETHAN CANDELARIO / COLLEGIATE TIMES
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Compromise and understanding are key in politics While it’s easy for political debates to get heated, compassion and empathy are crucial if we want to move forward.
T
he 2020 presidential election is creeping closer and closer, and during this time of political extremities and heated debates, we need to ask ourselves how we got to this point. How did our two most prominent political parties become so polarized? Liberals are labeled as snowflakes and conservatives are labeled as bigots. No matter our beliefs, how can we move forward as a country when we won’t
from minority groups while the other garners support from the white majority, but if we look deeper, is that all there is? We’ve separated these political parties, issues and controversies into two categories: black and white, right and wrong. What people refuse to understand is that many things in life aren’t black and white; they are grey and they are nuanced. Jett Hooker, a senior at Virginia Tech
TAMPA BAY TIMES / TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE A poll worker gets “I Voted” stickers ready to hand to voters as they finished up at the ballot booths at Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library in South Tampa, Florida, Nov. 6, 2012.
even listen to each other? It seems, in an effort for politicians to differentiate themselves from the others, they move further and further away from the center of the political spectrum. One apparent trend caused by this polarization of parties is the polarization of voters. The idea has become that one party garners support
majoring in multimedia journalism and minoring in political science shared her opinion on the matter. “The left believes that the right is tearing the country apart, and the right believes that the left is tearing the country apart,” Hooker said. “There’s a sort of head-to-head battle between conservatives and liberals that
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is pushing the parties further and further away from each other. People align their values and their identities to their political parties, and that is where their loyalty lies. A person’s individual values and individual identity ultimately becomes unifying values and a group identity within the confines of their political party.” Hooker believes the road to rectifying the nation’s division is taking each other’s thoughts and opinions into account, rather than casting them aside as invalid. “It would be helpful for people to start listening and trying to understand when people have views other than their own,” Hooker said. “Too often I see tweets and posts where people make jokes like, ‘If I see someone wearing a MAGA hat it’s on sight,’ or something along those lines. It’s like people are at the point where their first instinct is to retreat and retaliate the moment that someone’s political opinion is different than their own. That’s ultimately a huge reason why the country is in the shape that it is now. It shouldn’t be like that. You can’t preach equality for all or diversity and then threaten to hurt someone just because they have a different political view. It’s hypocritical.”
We too often hear an opinion that is different from ours, and instead of trying to understand their perspective, we immediately label them as a bigot or an idiot. Like Hooker said, our political opinions are rooted in our own personal beliefs. Even though some may feel that their counterparts hold hateful ideas, we shouldn’t respond to hate with more hate; that only escalates the issue. We all have a right to our own opinion and we all have a right to disagree with someone else’s opinion, but if we refuse to even try to see the other side, how can we expect to move forward as a nation? How can we expect to solve anything at all if all we do is scream at each other? I’m not saying we have to agree on anything; in fact, I believe it’s healthy to have different opinions. What’s not healthy is refusing to listen to our fellow brothers and sisters, insisting that our opinion is the right one. We don’t need to agree, but we do need to compromise.
ABBY DURRER • junior • communication science and social inquiry
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Voter registration deadline extended after a cut wire closes state government websites After a fiber-optic wire was cut accidentally, numerous state websites blocked access for hours Tuesday. BEN WALLS news editor
The Virginia Information Technologies Agency reported a cut fiber wire at the Commonwealth Enterprise Solutions Center in Chester, Virginia. It said the action is “impacting virtual private network connectivity for multiple Commonwealth agencies.” One of the affected agencies is the
Virginia Department of Elections, whose voter registration portal was blocking visitors from checking their registration status, requesting absentee ballots and registering to vote electronically. Virginia is among New Jersey, Maryland and Washington, D.C. that had voter registration deadlines Oct. 13. Worrisome Twitter users shared their concerns; “This is incredibly suspicious, especially on the last day of registration,” one Twitter user
said. “I’m calling on Virginia representatives to choose the only ethical option and grant extensions. This is astounding and unacceptable.” According to the tweet’s thread, crews worked to repair the damages. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam confirmed in a press conference Tuesday that the wire was cut inadvertently during a roadside utilities project. In the same press conference Tuesday,
Northam said he and his cabinet were “exploring all options” to extend the voter registration deadline, and he supported a court-ordered extension. The deadline for registering for the Nov. 3 elections was extended until Thursday, Oct. 15, at 11:59 p.m.
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No. 23 Virginia Tech dominates Boston College Eagles 40-14 in Lane Stadium on Saturday night Hendon Hooker puts up most quarterback rushing yards since Michael Vick. GLEN RORIE sports staff writer
No. 23 Virginia Tech stepped up big in Saturday’s prime-time game against Boston College as it ousts the Boston College Eagles 40–14 and moves up to 3-1 on the season. Quarterback Hendon Hooker started his first game of the season and dominated as he passed for 11-15, 111 passing yards, a passing touchdown and rushed for 164 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Hooker had the most rushing yards for a quarterback since Virginia Tech’s own Michael Vick in 2000, who had 200 rushing yards. The Hokies’ defense crushed the Eagles’ offense as they made them turnover the ball five times from two interceptions and three lost fumbles. In the first half of the game, the Hokies’ defense came to play as they killed the Eagles’ momentum early on with a forced fumble and recovery on the first drive of the game, and recovered the ball on the Eagles’ discombobulated handoff on Boston College’s second drive. Cornerback
Devin Taylor intercepted Boston College’s quarterback Phil Jurkovec in the second quarter which further crushed the Eagles’ momentum. The Hokies’ offense was able to score 10 of its 17 points in the first half off turnovers. The return of defensive backs Divine Deablo, who was out due to COVID-19, and Chamarri Conner, who was ejected in the first quarter during last week’s North Carolina game, made a large difference for the defense. Deablo brought the experience back into the secondary, held it down defensively with good coverage and forced a fumble. Conner led the team in tackles in Saturday’s game with 11. Though the Hokies gave up 345 passing yards, which sounds bad on paper, the defense had the Eagles’ offense on lock. Boston College came into the game with just three turnovers on the season and added five turnovers to that total. Defensive back Brion Murray was able to steal the ball with a 45-yard return in the fourth quarter. The Hokies also held the Boston College rushing
attack to only 90 rushing yards, so it is safe to say they improved their rush defense from last game. Virginia Tech’s offense looked solid in Hooker’s first start for the 2020 season. Running back Khalil Herbert and Hooker were simply a one-two punch and too much to handle for Boston College. Virginia Tech’s offense was poised and confident with Hooker under center. Boston College’s run defense was ranked fifth in the ACC going into this game; however, Virginia Tech was able to overpower it as it brought a smashmouth style of game plan into the matchup. The Hokies rushed for 350 rushing yards as a team, and junior transfer Raheem Blackshear even got in the mix and put up a 28-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. A lot of credit goes to the Virginia Tech offensive linemen, as they continue to dominate in the trenches and create space for the rushing attack. As the weeks continue, more and more Virginia Tech players continue to return as
many of them recover from COVID-19; only 13 players still remain out. They show a lot of promise in this young season and hope to continuously improve. Next, Virginia Tech will play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Truist Field in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 24. The Demon Deacons just picked up a win against the Virginia Cavaliers and currently have a record of 2-2. Virginia Tech won the last meeting with Wake Forest in 2019, and it looks to repeat that same success once more.
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The Computer Science Department is rapidly growing and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down Here’s how Virginia Tech is adapting and responding to these changes. MATTHEW HARRIS lifestyles staff writer
Undergraduate computer science programs have been growing at impressive rates at many colleges since the turn of the century. With the rapid advancement of technology in recent years, it’s no surprise that the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded by undergraduate computer science programs in the United States and Canada rose by 74% between 2009 and 2015. Virginia Tech’s Computer Science Department is no exception to this rule. “Seven or eight years ago, we were probably graduating 100 to 150 bachelor’s students per year. This year, (we graduated) about 300,” said Cal Ribbens, head of the Department of Computer Science. This rapid growth has provided many opportunities for the department, but it has also presented several pitfalls. The rapidly increasing class sizes have created novel problems for both students and staff. “It’s pushing 800 students each semester for these courses I’m working on,” said Margaret Ellis, an associate professor of practice in Virginia Tech’s computer science program. Professor Ellis oversees organizing Introduction to Problem Solving in Computer Science and Software Design and Data Structures, two integral computer science classes for sophomores in the department. The growing size of these classes can make it harder for students to get help from professors in these formative classes. Teaching assistants have become increasingly popular resources for students because of the scale of classes. Both graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants are hired each semester to help with organizing assignments,
grading and directly answering student questions. However, a flurry of questions can become too much for even the teaching assistants at points. However, this faculty growth has caused some issues for the department in recent years. The Computer Science Department has grown out of its original home in McBryde Hall and has had to relocate about half of its staff and graduate students to the Corporate Research Center (CRC) off campus. This split has made some professors’ office hours notoriously hard to access for on-campus students and has even caused some logistics issues within the faculty. While the rapid growth of the department has been a challenge, it has worked hard to adapt. Instead of introducing a cap or something along those lines, the department has instead embraced this challenge and taken the opportunity to grow and serve more students and faculty. This program seems to be successful in drawing new, qualified candidates. The number of staff continues to grow to accommodate more classes. “We hope to be hiring (five to 10) professors per year for the next six years,” Ribbens said. Although the department has had to change how it operates a bit to account for this growth, it has also brought some positives. The newfound scale of the Computer Science Department has provided it with some unique advantages. “Good things come from scale, too. We can offer all kinds of classes, employers love us and come here to the career fairs like crazy, and we hire some amazing faculty who do really cool things,” Ribbens said. As the department has grown, it has also become more diverse. “The percentage of women (in Virginia
ABBY JETMUNDSEN / COLLEGIATE TIMES Jouella Fabe, a junior math and computer science student, tests Google Glass for the first time, Feb. 5, 2014.
Tech’s Computer Science Department) has risen from 4% to 20% since 2007,” Ellis said. The department has plans to make some major changes moving forward to further accommodate its growth. These plans are a series of expansions, including new buildings as well as finding new room in existing buildings on campus. The first major expansion the department is undertaking is its move to Torgersen Hall. “Torgerson will house a new undergraduate learning center, a tutoring center and offices and research labs for approximately 12 tenuretrack faculty and at least 11 instructional faculty,” Ribbens said on a website detailing the expansion plans. This website is not public yet, as some details are still being finalized. Having a more central space on campus will help instill a more uniform sense of community within the Computer Science Department as well. The size of the department as well as the split between the CRC and McBryde made this almost impossible to achieve in the past. “I think students will have a better sense of
community and more access to (other) students, resources and faculty because they will know where to find us,” Ellis said. The next building that the department intends to expand into is a new construction on Gilbert Street. The final building that the department will expand into has been dubbed the Data and Decision Science building. Overall, the growth of the department has been both exciting and challenging for students and faculty. While some might falter in the face of this challenge, students and staff alike keep a positive mindset moving forward. The department embraces these new minds, and with its newfound resources hopes to craft a new generation of talented engineers. If anything, this scale issue is just another interesting problem for this department of engineers to solve in their unique style. @CollegiateTimes
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October 20, 2020 PAGE 5
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Impartiality means reporting, editing and delivering the news honestly, fairly, objectively and without opinion or bias. Credibility is the greatest asset of any news medium, and impartiality is the greatest source of credibility. To provide the most complete report, a news organization must not just cover the news, but uncover it. It must follow the story wherever it leads, regardless of any preconceived ideas on what might be most newsworthy. The pursuit of truth is a noble goal of journalism. But the truth is not always apparent or known immediately. Journalists’ role is
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ACROSS 1 Play divisions 5 Citrus coolers 9 Caroline, to Bobby Kennedy 14 Site of many a college party 15 Vatican leader 16 Garden trimming gadget 17 Singer __ Amos 18 Stuffed shirt 19 Pastry with tea 20 Bach mini comic opera about a beverage addiction 23 Pillow filler 24 Anthem contraction 25 Modern car receivers 33 Letter-shaped plumbing trap 34 Shade tree 35 Layer on a stagnant pond 36 Opp. of 56-Down 37 Secretly 41 Denver-toChicago dir. 42 Beginning on 44 Hide-hair connector 45 German camera 47 He played the interviewer in “Interview With the Vampire” 51 Yellowfin tuna 52 Very often 53 Last parting, or what can literally be found in 20-, 25- and 47-Across 59 Liberty Bell flaw 60 Artificial bait 61 “The First __”: holiday song 63 “Voices Carry” co-songwriter Mann 64 Perched on 65 Impulse 66 Models strike them 67 Acknowledges applause 68 Mexican bread? DOWN 1 Back on board
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2 Gator’s cousin 3 Poi source 4 React to an insult, maybe 5 Legal challenge 6 Scale starters 7 Grand-scale production 8 Genesis creator 9 Snapple rival 10 They’re often swiped at work 11 Entertainment awards acronym 12 Wrestler John 13 Prior to, in poems 21 Tosses in one’s cards 22 Expected outcomes 25 The “poison” type contains the skin irritant urushiol 26 Disconcert 27 Pavarotti, for one 28 Earth, to Cato 29 “Xanadu” rock gp. 30 Seal the deal 31 Prevention measure? 32 Makeup streak 38 “Open __ 9 p.m.”: store sign
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‘Let’s go around the Zoom’: How to virtually impress your future employers Unsure on what to wear or how you should decorate your space that will be on camera? We’ve got you covered. EMILY CARTER lifestyles editor
Even though the Engineering Expo occurred last month, that doesn’t mean there won’t be more job fairs happening this semester or even this school year. Since job fairs and interviews are going to be on Zoom, Skype or other video platforms for the foreseeable future, it’s important to prepare for them ahead of time instead of scrambling at the last minute. For those of you who have never been to a job fair or have never been to any of your Zoom classes, fear not. We’re here to help you get a job after graduation, nail an internship and maybe even help you figure how to work the “mute” button on Zoom. Dress for success Since your computer screen only shows the top half of your body, there’s no need to put on pants. If Instagram influencers,
reporters and even the Bachelor don’t feel the need to cover their legs, why should you? As for your top half? Don’t worry about taking hours to get ready –– just roll out of bed in your pajamas and bed head. It’s okay if your future employers see you in your giant T-shirt your mom bought you in middle school that you haven’t grown into yet, or your ratty pajama bottoms. If your employers see you when you’re hungover with eyeliner and mascara smeared down to your upper lip, it just means they’ve already seen you at your worst and there’s nowhere to go but up. So once you land the job — and you totally will — you can dazzle them with your great wardrobe, hair and make up. Decor is everything Now that your look is taken care of, it’s time to decide how your surroundings will look on camera. Please, I’m begging you, do not use a Zoom background at all. That looks like you’re hiding something, and
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it’s better to be honest with your employers from the very beginning. Don’t worry about cleaning your room before the interview; your employers should be understanding and shouldn’t care if your bedroom is spick and span. You have places to be and people to see. As for room decor, there’s many ways to approach the giant wall that employers will see when you turn on your camera. Boys, cover your wall with a giant flag of the sports team that defines your entire personality. Other options include signs stolen from your drunken nights walking home from TOTS or broken-down beer boxes so employers know you like to have fun. Ladies, decorate your space with your sorority letters. For those gals not in a sorority, spruce up your wall with posters of musicians and actors. Employers need to know that Harry Styles, Timothée Chalamet or another skinny boy with brown hair are the number one priority in your life and not them.
Man (or woman) of mystery If you’re too self-conscious about how you or your background will look on the day of your interview, just turn off your camera. When you speak to your employers over your Zoom microphone, you’ll sound ominous and powerful. This will make your employers want to hire you because they’ll want to see what you look like. If you don’t want to turn on your microphone either, just use the chat option. Your employers will be hearing from you over email for who knows how long, so it’s good for your employers to know how to use your words to communicate. If you follow these tips for your virtual job fairs and interviews, you’re sure to snatch up a job in no time.
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Online job hunting: How Hokies handled virtual career fairs Despite long wait times and learning how to navigate the chat option, Hokies were able to make connections with future employers. MATTHEW HARRIS lifestyles contributor
The middle of September is an important time for some Hokies. Classes begin to ramp up, deadlines become less forgiving and the all-important career fairs are about to begin. However, this scenario played out a little bit different this year. With COVID-19 taking its toll on Tech, many aspects of the school have been forced online. This included two of the biggest annual career fairs: Computer Science Source and Engineering Expo. CS Source took place Monday, Sept. 14, and Engineering Expo took place from Tuesday to Thursday, Sept. 15-17. All company information sessions, chats on the days of the events and interviews were moved to a completely virtual format. The move to a virtual format created some brand-new stresses for career fair attendees. Attendees had the option to enter multiple lines at once to talk with companies on a more efficient schedule. This created a hazardous balance for many attendees trying to talk to as many companies as possible while also trying not to stretch themselves too thin. “In person you’re only standing in one line, you’re not standing in 10 lines at once. The problem is if you get chosen at the same time, then you’re talking to two people and that can be difficult to do,” said Brandon Venable, a senior majoring in computer science, about CS Source. Wait times increased rapidly as the day went on at each fair. Eventually each company’s queue was at a 30-minute cap, giving attendees little information on if they would be waiting for their chance for half an hour or the rest of their day. Once the wait time was up, things didn’t get any easier for attendees. The abrupt nature of getting pulled into a text chat with little warning after an extremely long wait was nothing short of panic-inducing for some. Each chat came with a 10-minute time limit to make sure everyone got their turn. While this was likely in an effort to ensure everyone got a fair shot, the strict nature of this timer made what are normally casual chats feel, for some, like a race against time. In past career fairs, this time crunch only existed through implicit pressure from long lines of fellow Hokies. “Imagine if in person you were talking to
someone and they (said), ‘Oh, time’s up,’ and they don’t talk to you at all,” Venable said. However, the move to an online format wasn’t completely negative. For many, the tone of the events felt informal compared to previous years. Attendees were able to take a breather from the expensive and often uncomfortable aspect of career fair prep that is dressing business formal, which many appreciated. “I was looking at representatives and they had polos on (or) T-shirts. I think there was definitely more of a relaxed online environment,” Venable said. Beyond feeling more comfortable in their clothes, many attendees felt less stress lounging at home between chats. “When I’m at home around all of my own stuff, I can have a water bottle next to me, maybe a snack for after I talk to people,” Venable said. The shift to an online format created challenges for more than just the students attending the fairs. The first major hurdle the Student Engineers’ Council had to overcome was finding a suitable platform to host Engineering Expo on. This decision was made early into the planning process, soon after the spring semester was transitioned online in April. “(Brazen) felt like a comfortable choice at the time, and was something that (all organizations conducting career fairs) decided on together,” said Mariam Hasan, the Engineering Expo chairman of the SEC and a junior majoring in biomedical engineering. The other major hurdle the SEC had to address in the planning phase was advertising this event to companies. It was unclear if companies would see value in coming to the Engineering Expo at all, considering its online format and the rough financial times many were enduring due to COVID-19. Despite these concerns, companies did show up by the day of the expo and attracted many students to come talk to the recruiters. “In the end, companies started trickling in and we even had a lot reach out to us the day before to ask if they could register,” said Shivani Bajaj, president of the SEC and a senior majoring in industrial systems engineering. Brazen seemed like the safe choice at the beginning of the planning phase. However, the platform crashed on the first day of Engineering Expo, which left the SEC
performing damage control until the issue was resolved. Normally during an in-person career fair, organizers have complete control over the venue and can help solve logistics issues, so it was hard for the SEC to simply sit back and wait. “Students don’t really have that much time to wait, (and) companies don’t really have that much time to wait,” Hasan said. “(Companies) are paying to be here for an amount of time and expect to talk to students for that entire time.” Despite the numerous struggles in moving the Engineering Expo online and the rocky start to the event, it ended up being successful in what it set out to do. Companies were able to make meaningful connections with students, which is becoming
increasingly difficult to do in an all-online era of job hunting. “We had around 5,000 completed chats every day, around 15,000 completed chats (in total),” Bajaj said. The overall experience for both organizers and attendees of the fairs this year was different than in years past. However, everyone was able to find a unique way to approach this challenge, and no one gave up just because they weren’t able to do things normally this year. This resiliency has always been present in Hokie culture, and certainly looks good for landing a job.
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ETHAN CANDELARIO / COLLEGIATE TIMES A Virginia Tech student prepared for a job fair, Sept. 9, 2019.