Collegiate Times

At last night’s Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, candidate Mitt Romney admitted his tax was at roughly 15 percent.

A Pew Research Center analysis of census data shows the number of new married adults in the U.S. dropped by 5 percent.

Currently, only 51 percent of people 18 and older are married, compared to 72 percent in 1960.

Pew attributes this partially to people marrying later in life. First-time brides are, on average, 26.5 years old and first-time grooms are 28.7 years old–both record-high numbers. Additionally, cohabitation and single parenthood are becoming more common.

Read the full report here.

Hokies for Crouse broke $100,ooo.

The money will be used to help the Crouse family in their time of financial need.

Additionally, RunAbout Sports, a running store in the University Mall, will donate proceeds from its 9th Annual Frosty 5k to the fund.

Students can also donate by leaving their books at BookHolders, which will donate sales.

The funeral for Officer Deriek W. Crouse will be at Cassell Coliseum Monday at 2:00 p.m.

Friends and family will be received at the Horne Funeral Home at 1300 N. Franklin St in Christiansburg on Sunday from 3:00 — 8:00p.m.

Online condolences may be left here.

The Virginia Tech Alumni Association – Richmond Chapter is donating $1,000 to the memorial fund established for Officer Deriek W. Crouse, who was killed in the Dec. 8 shootings.

The chapter includes about 14,000 people in the Richmond area. The executive board expects additional alumni can make donations though the fund in the name of the association, which can be done here. Or, checks can be sent to Alumni Association - Richmond Chapter, P.O. Box 25066, Richmond, VA 23260-5066 with “Crouse memorial fund” written in the memo.

The Crouse Memorial Fund has reached over $33,000 as of 10:30 p.m. Friday.

The money will be donated to Deriek W. Crouse’s family in their “time of financial stress.”

Money can be donated online via PayPal or checks and gift cards can be sent to:

Dana Sutphin,
PO BOX 90002
Blacksburg Virginia 24062-9002

The Cook Counseling Center and East Eggleston Hall will be open for students needing counseling.

Both centers will be open Friday from 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. The McComas Hall location will also be open Saturday from 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00–5:00 p.m. Appointments can be made at (540)-231-6557 but walk-ins are welcome. After hours, students with emergencies can call (540)-231-6444.

Faculty and staff can receive counseling at the Southgate Center individually or as a group. Walk-ins are welcome on Friday during normal business hours or appointments can be made at (540)-231-9331.

By Nick Cafferky

In response to today’s events at Virginia Tech and the resulting death of officer Deriek Crouse of the Virginia Tech Police Department, Gov. Bob McDonnell addressed media Thursday night via teleconference to praise everyone involved with how the day was handled.

“I want to say that the multiple law enforcement agencies that were involved,” McDonnell said. “The Virginia Tech officials, the staff and the students are all to be commended for a very fast and very proper response.”

In addition to his praise, McDonnell also talked about his personal interest in today’s events, as his daughter, Rachel, a communication major, was one of the students in lockdown in Shanks.

“I spoke to her and texted her on a number of occasions,” McDonnell said. “I felt like so many parents who had children on the Virginia Tech campus. I felt that a lot of that angst and uncertainty when the initial reports came in about the shooting.”

McDonnell also let it be known that he has reached out to Tech President Charles Steger to let him know that the state is willing to offer whatever resources needed for the investigation as well as the for the safety of the students.

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.

By Erin Chapman

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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.