Collegiate Times

The protests for concealed carry are under way in front of Squires Student Center. The Virginia Citizens Defense League, in collaboration with the Libertarians at Virginia Tech, will protest for concealed carry on campus. Students for Gun Free Schools will protest against guns on college campuses.

To learn more about each of these protests, read this article in today’s issue of the Collegiate Times, and visit the VCDL event’s Facebook page and the Students for Gun Free Schools’ Facebook page.

Check this blog for updates, or follow @joshualhiggins on Twitter for live updates.

Last update: [3:40]

The crowd has dwindled, and only a few remain. VCDL has begun taking down their tent and signs.

Last update: [3:04 p.m.]

A photo gallery of today’s protest can be found here. Check out the events of the day.

Last update: [2:55 p.m.]

The number of protesters has decreased significantly from earlier. Protesters have been holding signs and demonstrating at the corner of College Avenue and Otey Street. Police continue to patrol the area, but many of them have congregated in front of Squires.

Last update: [2:34 p.m.]

Protesters on both sides continue talking to students and passersby about gun issues.

Last update: [2:15 p.m.]

No other speakers have spoken. It seems that the number of people participating in the protests is decreasing, but a few protesters are still handing out fliers to people passing by.

Last update: [1:34 p.m.]

No new speakers from VCDL have spoken. Both protests continue to advocate to passersby, but nothing new has occurred. Check this blog for future developments.

Last update: [12:49 p.m.]

Speeches by the VCDL have begun. Kurt Mueller, a Students for Concealed Carry board member, just spoke.

“We believe that law-abiding citizens who have concealed carry permits don’t suddenly become irresponsible once they cross onto a college campus, and likewise, we believe that the criminals who are out there in the world do not suddenly become non-criminals when they cross onto a college campus.” Mueller said.

[CORRECTION: The original quote said "...citizens who have concealed carry permits suddenly become irresponsible..." The actual quote was "...citizens who have concealed carry permits don't suddenly become irresponsible..."]

But Mark Barbour, one of the anti-gun counter protesters, disagrees that concealed carry should be allowed on college campuses.

“I don’t believe anybody should be carrying guns on college campuses,” Barbour said. “My wife is a professor here. I think that some upset student, maybe over a bad grade, could possibly be concealing and carrying a weapon and lose their temper at my wife, or any other professor, or anyone here. It’s just wrong.”

Barbour, along with many of the anti-gun protesters, carried signs promoting gun-free campuses.

Mueller continued to say that concealed carry advocates are making progress toward fewer concealed carry bans on college campuses.

“With the addition of Liberty University, we now have 72 campuses nationwide where concealed carry is occurring for students and faculty,”

The VCDL crowd erupted in applause, while a protester from the anti-gun group said, “Go home! Most of you don’t live here anyway.”

Last update: [12:03 p.m.]

More people have congregated outside of Squires.

Many protesters have posters. One poster said “No guns? No Funds!” and another said “Rapists agree. Keep VT gun-free.”

Speeches have not begun yet, but VCDL advocate said they will begin “very soon.”

Last update: [11:35 a.m.]

VCDL supporters are outside of Squires Student Center handing out “Guns Save Lives” stickers and pamphlets about campus carry. The pamphlet explains a legally non-binding opinion articulated by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, why banning guns on college campuses is a problem, and who concealed carry permit holders are. There is also a list of quotes supporting carry on campus.

Police are also on scene. A few police cars are parked around the protest area, and policemen are patrolling.

No one from the counter-protest has arrived yet.

A gunman was spotted by a faculty member on the University of California, Berkeley campus yesterday.

Police responded quickly, and when they located the suspect in a computer room, he fired shots at the police, forcing them to fire back at him.

No students or faculty were injured in the event, though the gunman’s medical condition is still unknown.

It it is unclear whether the gunman was connected to anti-Wall Street protesters nearby on campus.

Read this article for more information.

Matt Gurski, an aerospace engineering major, isn’t the first person too invite celebrities to military functions. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis were both invited via YouTube earlier this year. Timberlake attended a ball in Richmond on Sunday night and Kunis is expected to attend another this week in North Carolina.

These students got lucky.

A professor at George Washington University didn’t teach his class but gave all the students A’s. When the university discovered the ethical breach, they refunded the students’ tuition for the class that was never taught, but they got to keep their credits!

Read more about it here.

By Erin Chapman

—

This morning at the A1 precinct of Slusser’s Chapel Church of God, a man voted in an incorrect race and became belligerent when he realized the mistake.

John White, chief election officer of the A1 precinct, said that he had to call the police when the man refused to calm down.

“He was yelling at officials and at voters inside, when I asked him to leave he continued to yell at people coming in to vote, so I had to call the authorities,” White said.

This was one a few issues that the precinct faced during the first few hours of voting. White said a lot of confusion came from redistricting issues.

“People see campaign signs across the street and they think that is the race they will be voting in, they don’t realize that they might be in a different district,” said White.

White said that the issues could have been the fault of the voters or poll workers, but all three discrepancies occurred at the same booth. White said that the worker at that booth was reassigned.

An abundance of different ballots caused long lines at the Blacksburg Community Center.

“We opened 15 minutes later than we were supposed to as an attempt to prevent any confusion among poll workers with the different types of ballots,” said Karen Ayers, chief election officer of the G1 precinct.

Ayers said they were also seeing long lines throughout the day because it was taking voters a long time to vote.

Both White and Ayers said they were seeing a fairly steady amount of voters.

“This precinct usually has a high turnout, the only election where we’ll see a higher turnout is for the presidential election,” said White.

Jennifer Tilley, a Blacksburg resident, said that it is important to vote, regardless of the type of election.

“Town council is important for Blacksburg, it’s important who we put in office and it’s my duty to vote,” said Tilley.

By Zach Crizer

Courtesy Solo via NPR.org

Why do you pick up the red Solo cups before a party? There are cheaper alternatives, but unlike Xerox or Kleenex, Solo doesn’t seem to have a problem with being the brand name associated with party cups.

Now, as NPR explains, it is getting more notoriety because of a glorifying Toby Keith song.

While they don’t seem particularly glamorous, they certainly are everywhere in the college lifestyle.

From WikiMedia Commons via The Atlantic

By Zach Crizer

The McRib always creates a momentary sensation when it returns to McDonald’s. In fact it seems like the fast-food chain just takes it away every once in a while to experience the surge of popularity that ensues when the sandwich comes back.

But, this time might be different. Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, the company that supplies the pork for the sandwiches, is under fire (mainly from the Humane Society of the United States) for the living conditions of its pigs.

So, whether the claims that Smithfield mistreats its animals are true or not, maybe the McRib will finally just stay on the menu or go for good.

In Florida, managers of a Domino’s Pizza Restaurant have been charges with burning down a nearby Papa John’s in the hopes of attracting more customers.

I’m going to guess Papa John’s pizzas were a little bit on the crispy side that day.

Read more about this here.

By Zach Crizer

Virginia Tech students who use Bank of America can rest easy that they will no longer be charged $5 a month for using their debit card. This is largely thanks to a national outcry. I made a Storify to show a business backpedaling as angry customers express themselves.

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At least six people were shot last night in Washington, D.C. while celebrating Halloween.

Read more about this tragedy here.