Collegiate Times

Hokies United will be holding a remembrance ceremony for two students found dead last week in Jefferson National Forest.

According to this university press release, it will take place on the Drillfield near War Memorial Chapel. Zc

Virginia Tech Police arrested a local man Sunday who has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon while intoxicated.

Eric Huff, a 28-year-old who is not a Tech student, was arrested in the Prices Fork parking lot.

VT Police filed charges against Huff for possession of marijuana, appearing intoxicated in public and carrying a concealed weapon with a permit while intoxicated.

Huff holds a permit for the weapon. Zc

A job fair with an on campus focus will be open to students on Sept. 3 in the Old Dominion Ballroom of Squires Student Center.

University departments will be seeking students to fill part-time positions, as well as internships and graduate assistant jobs. The fair, which will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature representatives from departments listed in this university press release

No interviewing or hiring will be done at the fair. Zc

Virginia Tech associate director for athletics communication Bryan Johnston said Saturday that linebacker Zach Luckett’s status on the team has not changed as a result of a criminal charge for driving with a suspended or revoked license.

Luckett, who was suspended for last season following a DUI conviction, was allowed to walk on to the team this season. According to Montgomery County District Court records, Luckett was stopped on Aug. 6 by a Virginia Tech Police officer and charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license.

A hearing for the newest charge will take place Oct. 1. He also has a Sept. 30 hearing scheduled to determine if he violated the terms of his suspended sentence for the DUI conviction.

Johnston said the team will wait for the court hearings to make any decisions. Zc

Edward McNelis, attorney for former Cook Counseling Center director Robert Miller, responded to a request for admissions today in a written statement to the press.

McNelis said the request, sent by Robert Hall, attorney for the families of April 16 victims Erin Peterson and Julia Pryde, would not receive a public response.

“The requests for admission by Mr. Hall are not facts but merely contentions drafted by an attorney with a vested interest in the outcome of the lawsuit,” McNelis said in the statement. “In contrast, the documents recently filed by Dr. Miller regarding the details of how he inadvertently removed the triage forms were statements of fact given under oath.”

Miller, who returned the mental health records of April 16 shooter Seung-Hui Cho in July after locating them in his home, released a legal response to questions on Tuesday. Hall sent a request for admissions on Thursday after the records were made public by Virginia Tech and Cho’s estate. Zc

As reported in this News Leader article, the Virginia Tech Police Department will be examined by a team from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. beginning Aug. 29, in an attempt to gain accreditation.

VTPD arranged the assessment voluntarily.

A public information and comment session will be held on Aug. 31 at 3 p.m. at the Inn at Virginia Tech. Zc

Virginia Tech is ranked 71st among the country’s 100 best universities in US News and World Report’s latest rankings.

America’s Best Colleges 2010, produced a familiar result for Tech. The university has now been ranked 71st for three years in a row.

It is ranked 29th among public universities. Among public Virginia universities, it ranks third, behind only the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary.

Tech’s engineering program is ranked 14th and Pamplin College of Business ranked 42nd in the country. Zc

After a short vacation, the CT News Blog is back, and will be better than ever.

The blog will be updated very frequently, giving up to the minute information on campus and local events. In addition to my reporting, University News Editor Philipp Kotlaba will also be posting to the blog.

For starters, there are some changes associated with the move in for fall semester.

Washington Street is closed to thru traffic between Spring Road and Kent Street. It is being used as an unloading zone.

Parking services’ booth in Student Services is not open today, however, parking passes can be purchased at the parking services headquarters on Tech Center Drive.

Many student volunteers are around the residence halls to help students move into their dorms. Zc

A press release from the university says the VT Desktop Alert system is ready and available for students and faculty to download.

The newest addition to Virginia Tech’s Emergency Notification System is a widget-like program that sits dormant on a computer until an alert is sent out. When the widget receives the alert, which should be instantaneous, it will pop up on the screen of the user.

It was developed by Tech’s Communication Network Services department.

I originally reported on the program in this CT article.

The program requires an active Internet connection to function.

According to a press release, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has awarded a $1.9 million Economic Development Administration grant to Blacksburg and the Virginia Tech Foundation, with a goal of expanding the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center.

The release says the project will bring 2,000 jobs and $140 million in private investments to the CRC.

Congressman Rick Boucher said in the release that the CRC is expected to double in size.

More coming on this. Zc