Originally published by the Collegiate Times as Breaking News.
Published online on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015.
The Virginia Tech Police Department is investigating a graffiti threat in a university bathroom after a Monday, Nov. 2 alert was emailed to students.
The graffiti on a bathroom stall in Price Hall stated, “I will be here 11/11/2015 to kill all muslims (sic).”
A VT Police email alert was sent at 2:03 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5 titled, “SITUATIONAL AWARENESS — SEEKING ASSISTANCE.”
Police and Detective John Waid of the Investigations Unit are requesting information via phone, online or the LiveSafe app.
"We take any and all such vandalism and threats very, very seriously, and we're working very hard to solve the case,” said Mark Owczarski, vice president for university relations and spokesperson for the University. “If there was ever a moment in which the University felt there was even a remote possibility that you needed to know something for your safety, we would have told you — and we are telling you now.”
Virginia Tech Police declined to comment on this story at this time.
"I was a little scared, but I don't think anything tangible (will come of it), just because it's kind of a cowardly act to write it on a bathroom stall door,” said Rayan Salih, junior biochem major and treasurer of the Muslim Student Association (MSA). “It makes me a little cautious, just because sometimes I do forget that I wear this scarf.”
According to its GobblerConnect page, the MSA has 81 members.
"It was disappointing that there is somebody out there with so much hate that they would write something threatening a huge portion of our campus student population with violence,” said Obaid Khan, senior civil engineering major and president of the MSA. “If it's left unchecked, it will manifest itself in violence.”
VT Police sent reminders for all community members to be aware and cautious and reach out to VT Police, the Dean of Students Office or Hokie Wellness for additional support or care.
“The leaders on campus should really take a stand against this, especially leaders in the University,” Khan said. “Also student leaders should take a stand against this, united in the sense that one segment of our Hokie family here is being threatened with death.”
“I am so sad to hear something like this, especially in Virginia Tech, where we have a huge amount of diversity. We have people from everywhere in the world, from different cultures, different religions, and all of them are here to study and to work, and I am so sorry to hear that someone at Virginia Tech has this feeling towards Muslims,” said Haytham Almarakeby, a graduate student in computer science and treasurer for the Islamic Student Assembly (ISA).
Khan and Fawad Mohammad, vice president of MSA, have started a plan for MSA to stand in solidarity and to clarify what Islam is.
“I think this is based on the lack of knowledge, the lack of communication, the lack of understanding,” Almarakeby said. “I think the proper way to address this challenge, actually, is to increase awareness.”
Virginia Tech stands as one, echoing the strength the community has built over time.
“This is a critical moment in which we can all let each other know that yes, we are all different, yes, we have different backgrounds, yes, we might be from different ethnicities, we might follow different religions, but there's one uniting factor: the fact that we are not only all Hokies but the fact that we are all humans,” Khan said.
Both MSA and ISA are working to increase knowledge and clear misconceptions about Islam for students across campus.
“Something I really, really, really want to emphasize is that if you have questions, please, please ask,” Salih said. “This is one person, and this one person doesn't speak for the entire community. My three years at Virginia Tech have been amazing.”
Students can call Detective John Waid at 540-231-6790 or VT Police at 540-231-6411 with tips.
3.11.15
Student biker hit by car at crosswalk
Originally published by the Collegiate Times as Breaking News.
Not on assignment; spot reporting.
Published in print edition on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2015.
A student driver hit a student biking across a crosswalk on Monday, Nov. 2, at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Prices Fork Road. The cyclist, Tyler Thompson, a junior computer science major, did not sustain serious injuries at the scene and declined medical attention.
Thompson was following pedestrians across the crosswalk from campus towards The Edge Apartment Homes when his bike was hit by a car in the right lane driving towards the intersection.
“I go this way every day; every single day,” Thompson said. “I ride bikes on the trails, on the road, and this is the first time I got hit. She totally didn’t see me at all.”
Thompson was thrown over the handlebars of the bike and landed on his shoulder but was unsure if he hit the car or the ground. Thompson estimated the incident will cost a total of $700 in replacements, $600 for the bike and $100 for the jacket.
“I wait every time until the light’s blinking, and they say to wait until the lights are blinking at the crosswalk, so I wait,” Thompson said. “I saw the first person stop, and it was like, ‘Well, the first person stopped, so surely the next person’s going to stop in the next lane, but I guess they didn’t see me or whatever, so I don’t know.”
Students had been walking in front of and behind Thompson when he was hit. He agreed that a pedestrian walking next to his bike would have likely been hit. Moving forward, Thompson does not plan to take extra caution.
“I’m really not hurt too bad,” Thompson said. “It really is supposed to be somewhere people can cross safely and not have to worry about getting hit. I wasn’t doing anything illegal, so I don’t see why I should change what I was doing in a safe place.”
This is the second recorded bike accident this year after the death of Mark Slough, fueling concern over safety. According to the Code of Virginia, bikers at crosswalks have the same rights and responsibilities as pedestrians. Virginia Tech Police encourages bikers to dismount at crosswalks. “Stuff happens, so I’m not going to get all mad at her or whatever,” Thompson said. “But stuff happens; it’s just like everyday life. It’s a Monday, right?”
The Virginia Tech student who was driving declined to comment at the scene, and Blacksburg Police was unavailable for comment.
Not on assignment; spot reporting.
Published in print edition on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2015.
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BLACKSBURG, Va. — The two-lane two-way crosswalk on Prices Fork Road between from the academic side of campus and The Edge apartments deals with heavy pedestrian and street traffic during rush hours and between classes. Photograph by Lauren Pak
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Thompson was following pedestrians across the crosswalk from campus towards The Edge Apartment Homes when his bike was hit by a car in the right lane driving towards the intersection.
“I go this way every day; every single day,” Thompson said. “I ride bikes on the trails, on the road, and this is the first time I got hit. She totally didn’t see me at all.”
Thompson was thrown over the handlebars of the bike and landed on his shoulder but was unsure if he hit the car or the ground. Thompson estimated the incident will cost a total of $700 in replacements, $600 for the bike and $100 for the jacket.
“I wait every time until the light’s blinking, and they say to wait until the lights are blinking at the crosswalk, so I wait,” Thompson said. “I saw the first person stop, and it was like, ‘Well, the first person stopped, so surely the next person’s going to stop in the next lane, but I guess they didn’t see me or whatever, so I don’t know.”
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BLACKSBURG, Va. — Tyler Thompson stands in front of his damaged bike in a parking lot where he and the driver pulled over to have a conversation. Photograph by Lauren Pak/Collegiate Times
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“I’m really not hurt too bad,” Thompson said. “It really is supposed to be somewhere people can cross safely and not have to worry about getting hit. I wasn’t doing anything illegal, so I don’t see why I should change what I was doing in a safe place.”
This is the second recorded bike accident this year after the death of Mark Slough, fueling concern over safety. According to the Code of Virginia, bikers at crosswalks have the same rights and responsibilities as pedestrians. Virginia Tech Police encourages bikers to dismount at crosswalks. “Stuff happens, so I’m not going to get all mad at her or whatever,” Thompson said. “But stuff happens; it’s just like everyday life. It’s a Monday, right?”
The Virginia Tech student who was driving declined to comment at the scene, and Blacksburg Police was unavailable for comment.
30.10.15
Accident outside of Hunters Ridge Apartments
Originally published by the Collegiate Times as Breaking News.
Not on assignment; spot reporting.
Published online on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015.
Three Virginia Tech students were involved in a two car collision at the corner of Seneca Drive and Patrick Henry Drive at approximately 7:20 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30.
Blacksburg Rescue took the driver and passenger from the turning car to the hospital. No one sustained serious injuries at the scene.
One car turned left onto Seneca Drive, colliding with a car driving straight on Patrick Henry Drive. The accident occurred in front of Hunters Ridge Apartments and Collegiate Suites Apartments.
Turning vehicles do not have right of way and are required to yield to cars driving straight.
The front bumper of both cars were damaged and towed by Campus Automotive. Two Blacksburg Police officers directed the minor traffic congestion coming out of Hunters Ridge and Pheasant Run at the four-way intersection.
The two student drivers declined to be identified or comment at this time. Officers on the scene declined to comment at this time.
Published online on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015.
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BLACKSBURG, Va. — Campus Automotive arrived at the scene to clean glass, metal and broken car parts off the road and sidewalk before towing both cars. Photograph by Lauren Pak/Collegiate Times
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Blacksburg Rescue took the driver and passenger from the turning car to the hospital. No one sustained serious injuries at the scene.
One car turned left onto Seneca Drive, colliding with a car driving straight on Patrick Henry Drive. The accident occurred in front of Hunters Ridge Apartments and Collegiate Suites Apartments.
Turning vehicles do not have right of way and are required to yield to cars driving straight.
The front bumper of both cars were damaged and towed by Campus Automotive. Two Blacksburg Police officers directed the minor traffic congestion coming out of Hunters Ridge and Pheasant Run at the four-way intersection.
The two student drivers declined to be identified or comment at this time. Officers on the scene declined to comment at this time.
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BLACKSBURG, Va. — Two students were riding in the car that was turning; both went to the hospital to recieve medical attention. Photograph by Lauren Pak/Collegiate Times
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28.10.15
Unconfirmed email scam circulates through vt.edu email addresses
Originally published by the Collegiate Times as News.
Published online on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015.
On Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 9:31 p.m., an email similar to other university phishing scams was sent to undisclosed vt.edu email addresses from a udel.edu email address.
The email asked users to click a link to renew their email accounts. The email read: “Your account will been suspended in the nest three hours you can not send or receive until you renew your vt.edu mail account follow the link and fill the information to renew your mail box (sic).”
Sent from an unconfirmed University of Delaware email address, the body of the email included a hyperlink and was followed by a URL, beginning with it-vt-help-desk but ending in “jimdo.com," which is unaffiliated with Virginia Tech or the University of Delaware. The email was signed by “Thanks IT Help desk.”
Students at other universities were advised to avoid clicking the hyperlink or typed link or further circulating the email. This possible spear phishing scam has been confirmed at other universities including the University of Delaware and the University of Chicago, with students receiving similar emails with customized site links hosted by jimdo.com, a free website provider. Virginia Tech Police has not yet issued a crime alert and declined to comment on this story at this time.
Published online on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015.
On Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 9:31 p.m., an email similar to other university phishing scams was sent to undisclosed vt.edu email addresses from a udel.edu email address.
The email asked users to click a link to renew their email accounts. The email read: “Your account will been suspended in the nest three hours you can not send or receive until you renew your vt.edu mail account follow the link and fill the information to renew your mail box (sic).”
Sent from an unconfirmed University of Delaware email address, the body of the email included a hyperlink and was followed by a URL, beginning with it-vt-help-desk but ending in “jimdo.com," which is unaffiliated with Virginia Tech or the University of Delaware. The email was signed by “Thanks IT Help desk.”
Students at other universities were advised to avoid clicking the hyperlink or typed link or further circulating the email. This possible spear phishing scam has been confirmed at other universities including the University of Delaware and the University of Chicago, with students receiving similar emails with customized site links hosted by jimdo.com, a free website provider. Virginia Tech Police has not yet issued a crime alert and declined to comment on this story at this time.
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