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Obenshain and Franklin answer voters’ questions at Cardinal News candidate forum

by Jonathan Mususa, politics and government reporter

Democratic challenger Lily Franklin and Republican Delegate Chris Obenshain at the Cardinal News candidate forum for the 41st House of Delegates district, Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

(Jonathan Mususa, The News Feed)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – On Monday, Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m., Blacksburg residents and potential voters crowded into the meeting room at the Blacksburg Public Library to hear Republican Delegate Chris Obenshain and Democratic challenger Lily Franklin speak at a candidate forum for the 41st House of Delegates district organized by Cardinal News.

Running in a rematch of the 2023 race which saw Obenshain win by 183 votes, the two candidates answered questions submitted by audience members ahead of time in a conversation moderated by Roanoke College political science professor Jeff Vick.

This forum was held as a part of Cardinal News’ “The Cardinal Way: Civility Rules” project, centered on promoting productive discourse across party lines.

Note the word civility. Likely with the bouts of heckling at the Buena Vista Labor Fest and an earlier forum in the 40th House district on her mind, Cardinal News executive director Luanne Rife made things rather clear to the audience.

“The moderator, Jeff Vick, will give a warning if anyone’s out of line and, if there’s a second incident, we’re just going to quit,” Rife said. “We’re going to just close it down.”

“We’re also livestreaming this on our Facebook page and it’ll be archived on YouTube, so that’s another reason you don’t want to be that person or anything.”

Fortunately, things went ahead fairly smoothly.

Virginia Tech and what students want

With Virginia Tech students having broken overwhelmingly for Franklin back in 2023, it perhaps comes as no surprise that her campaign has reached out to students, with Franklin echoing some of the concerns she heard.

“How are we going to make sure young people can afford homes?” she asked the audience. “How are we going to ensure they have access to good jobs that they can grow after they leave the university, that they have internships, and that we’re also protecting their rights?”

Obenshain cited work he had done to benefit the Virginia Tech community – co-sponsoring legislation to improve access to sexual assault response kits and budget amendments for increased funding for the university – before addressing the state of the region’s economy.

“I’ve talked to a lot of folks who have graduated from Virginia Tech and wanted to stay here in the New River Valley, but they couldn’t find a job,” he said. “They couldn’t find the right job for them that would keep them here, and that’s why I think economic development and prosperity is such an important part of what we do in Richmond and in the General Assembly.”

The Virginia Clean Economy Act of 2020 and phasing out fossil fuels by 2050

Franklin staked out a position as “one of the most vocal opponents of the legislation” for its supposed failure to “protect ratepayers” against rising energy prices, the blame for which she placed on, among other things, increasing energy demand from data centers and insufficient regulation of Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power – corporations that Franklin is not accepting campaign contributions from.

“I think, as we head to Richmond, this is going to be the biggest fight in 2026,” she said, referring to debates about the future of the Commonwealth’s electric grid.

In one of the tenser moments of the evening, Obenshain began his response by casting doubts on the nature of Franklin’s opposition to the VCEA, going on to say that she “supports the goals of the VCEA, and it’s the goals of the VCEA that are the problem.”

Obenshain went on to lament increases in electricity rates in the Commonwealth since the VCEA’s passage, as well as Virginia’s status as one of the nation’s top energy importers.

Healing the partisan divide

Drawing upon his work with Democrats on protections against anti-Semitic violence and increased funding for the Marcus alert system for mental health emergencies, Obenshain called for people to “rediscover our sense of civic engagement.”

“Getting off of our phones and getting out into our communities is something that’s going to be really important for us moving forward,” he said, before touching on the recent cellphone bans that have gone into effect in school districts across the Commonwealth.

“Teachers are talking about it being noisy in the lunchroom again. Those are good things and that helps us as a country.”

Franklin confessed to doing more to the end of pursuing unity than many of her fellow Democrats thought prudent, but her work supposedly was not in vain.

“I have had people who voted for Donald Trump, people who are big supporters of Marjorie Taylor Greene, all tell me how they will be supporting me this election,” she said. “And that’s because we’re able to talk about how we have shared community values.”

She also called for a less partisan and more realistic view of the legislative process.

“Almost every piece of legislation that comes out of Richmond – and Chris can attest to this – is bipartisan … When we talk about legislation, we do need to talk about a lot of the things that we’re doing together, because most of it is together.”

Audience members watch as Democratic challenger Lily Franklin responds to a question.

(Jonathan Mususa, The News Feed)

At the evening’s end, Obenshain thanked his family and constituents for their support and touted his accomplishments anew. The impending arrival of passenger rail to Christiansburg, increased funding for education, and Virginia’s nation-leading decline in overdose deaths are, he assured the audience, among the results of “what happens when you put experienced leadership with common-sense solutions.”

Franklin focused more on the difficulties being faced by people of all generations in the 41st and how her background as a working-class native of Southwest Virginia allowed her to relate to them.

“Five generations of my family’s from here, from two all the way to 92,” she said. “So, when I look at policy, I think about how you can thrive at every stage of your life.”

Afterwards, Cardinal News executive editor Jeff Schwaner thanked those in attendance for their cooperation and sent them back out into their communities with the knowledge that “this is the best of politics.”

Pulaski County prepares new project that could lead to major growth for Southwest Virginia

By Landon Swanson, Arts, Culture and Sports reporter

Tim Miller, middle, Director of Pulaski’s Sports Tourism and Entertainment Authority

This story highlights Pulaski County’s goals to build a new sports complex that features the new director of Pulaski’s new Sports Tourism and Entertainment authority created within this past year. The complex is looking to boost the economic and social state of where the county is now.

Sports tourism has become one of the fastest growing industries in the United States recently with families travelling across the country for tournaments and other numerous events. Many communities are now investing in modernized facilities to host teams from everywhere, influencing the community by seeing many new visitors they previously would not have seen. The goal of this complex is to strengthen the image of Pulaski County and bringing new people in their effort to transform the future.

What is your vision for the sports complex, and why is now the time?

My vision is to build a new top-of-the-line sports center that mainly gives Pulaski a new meaning where the people of this place have a sense of pride, giving them new opportunities as well. I want this to be a destination where people across Virginia and even the country come to play. I want Pulaski to be a place where families come to spend weekends with their kids as they play ball.

I felt as if now was the right time because youth sports have been growing significantly over the past few years. Many families are willing to travel longer distances for tournaments or other events, and this creates a major economic opportunity for the hosting community. Pulaski has the land and the opportunity to make this area a hot spot for many different things we have planned.

Why is Pulaski County the right place for this project?

We feel this area is perfect because of the proximity to a major city and close enough to some major college campuses. Pulaski also would give the small-town feel and doesn’t run families dry as some major cities would but still give a very high-end sports facility.

What is an overview of what will be included in the complex?

Yea, so as of right now we are planning to include around eight basketball/volleyball courts, a couple turf soccer fields, pickleball courts, a weight room, a small walking track and another sprinting track, a restaurant, and classrooms as well.

We really wanted to give Pulaski the ability to have a place for Pulaski County Rec Sports and still offer the availability of the main courts for commercial use, such as tournaments or other events like camps and what not.

What kind of impact will this have on Pulaski?

The impact will be both economic and social. On the economic side, we’re anticipating millions of dollars in visitor spending each year. When families come for tournaments, they need places to stay, eat, and shop. That means more business for our hotels, restaurants, and local shops. This also creates jobs for the county during the construction process and further once it opens into the hospitality portion and maintaining and running events.

Building this gives our local people access to a facility that is on par with major markets while staying at home. It also gives families a new source of entertainment closer to home without the need to make a trip anywhere.

What will the accessibility for use look like?

Accessibility is at the core of our planning. While we want to host major tournaments and events, this facility belongs to the people of Pulaski. We are designing a usage plan that ensures our schools, youth leagues, and community groups will always have access.

We mostly wanted this to be for the people who live here while also offering the facility out to teams from across the country to come to western Virginia. We are trying to balance serving local needs and driving tourism.

Are there any plans for additional development around the complex?

That’s the goal. We are still kind of in the early stages of everything to begin with but ideally, we can use this as a reason to grow. By adding to the complex, we would bring more visitors which usually means more infrastructure is needed regardless of what we already have. Once again it comes back to the economic advantages that this entire project would bring, adding additional infrastructure leads to more potential jobs and resources for us to gain from. Although the same issue arises when trying to plan and build this because everything, we have talked about won’t be cheap to do.

What led you to take on this role?

I immediately saw potential in what we could bring here, and throughout my career I have always been about building new organizations and standing things from the ground up. When I joined and had the opportunity to announce this project it really catapulted something even bigger than I first thought was even possible when I stepped into this role. I believe in this community’s potential. Taking on this role is about helping Pulaski step into that potential and build something lasting. It’s an incredible responsibility, but it’s also an honor.

What do you hope this project leaves behind for the administration and the county?

I want people to look back at this project years from now and say how great an idea this was that led to many travelling from far to be here and how it gave the people who live here more entertainment through whatever they find. As for the administration, I hope it proves that smart investments can make a lasting impact on the community and the surrounding area as well. In the end, I hope it gives generations a reason to come to either come and live here or if they already are here a reason to stay.

Bridging the Gap: Deepak Madala on Health Care Access and Virginia’s Immigrant Communities

By John Tuason, Politics and Government reporter

*Deepak Madala, a licensed care attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center helping Virginians navigate the healthcare system*.

With federal cuts looming and open enrollment only a few weeks out, Deepak Madala is helping to prepare Virginians for another season of healthcare uncertainty.

Madala started working at the Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC) twelve years ago, when the Affordable Care Act was first implemented in Virginia. He and his boss, Jill Hanken, created a program called Enroll Virginia. Enroll Virginia is a community-based effort to educate Virginians about health coverage options and provide enrollment assistance. The program was recognized by the US Department of Health and Human Services to participate in the Federal Navigator program.

In an interview on Thursday, Deepak discussed the work being done at the VPLC, how the upcoming Medicaid cuts will affect Virginians, and the unique challenges that immigrant families face regarding healthcare.

His comments were edited slightly for length and clarity.

What are the biggest challenges facing the VPLC?

Health insurance is complicated. You know, I think that’s the main challenge. While we’ve expanded, and established a good team statewide, it’s still not enough.

The people we work with; their situations are all highly specific to them and their family. It’s dependent on their personal medical needs, their personal financial situations, and their resources. That complexity has always been our biggest challenge.

There are a lot of changes coming to both the Virginia marketplace and the Medicaid program in the coming years. We’re trying our best to kind of stay ahead of that, to keep our team trained and understanding what those changes are. We’re assisting people as they’re navigating the healthcare system by both kind of helping them through those changes, but also anticipating what’s coming down the road, and helping prepare them for those.

What are the challenges that are coming up for Virginians?

It’s something that always happens, but what’s around the corner right now is that when people enroll in coverage through that marketplace, that coverage is only for one year, so they have to renew that coverage every single year and they do that during what’s called open enrollment. Open enrollment in the marketplace starts in November first, and then it goes through end of January here in Virginia.That’s a relatively short amount of time, so people need to actively go to their accounts, check and see what the prices are and see if there are plans that are and what their budget can afford.

During the COVID pandemic, the federal government expanded and the subsidies that were available to help make some of those private insurance plans more affordable. There’s still help like that available for 2026. But they’ll be less of them available because of cuts being made at the federal level to these programs.

One of those cuts was to enhanced subsidies. So, when people go to shop this fall, starting in November, they may see higher prices. Thankfully, in Virginia we still actually have a very competitive insurance market. We have a lot of different companies that do serve statewide.

How will Medicaid cuts at the federal level be affecting Virginians?

Because of this loss of subsidies and other changes that are in the news right now like Medicaid work requirements, paperwork requirements, and renewals for Medicaid. A lot of that stuff is more likely to come into play in 2026. Administrative types of burdens are going to being placed on people, and in some other states that have already gone through work requirement implementations. In states like Arkansas and Georgia that have implemented work requirements, the biggest problem was the absurdity of how they wanted people to submit their documents.

In Arkansas, for example, the website that they had to submit their documents to was only open during business hours during the week. If you’re a working person, you may have multiple jobs. So, when the website’s not even open, you’re losing your Medicaid coverage because you can’t submit the documents on your schedule. I’m hopeful that Virginia will have more reasonable expectations.

What is different about working with immigrants?

There are many areas in Virginia where there are large numbers of immigrants who don’t have access to insurance through jobs, or through universities for some reason; yet, most Virginian immigrants, do have legal status of some type. It just depends on their situation. Perhaps they’re self-employed. If they run their own business, they themselves don’t have access to insurance because of that. So that’s when we help them through the marketplace because they are not eligible for Medicaid.

Some of the of the broader challenges we see facing immigrants nationwide are families who have U.S. Citizen children who are eligible for a lot of benefits because they’re a U.S. Citizen child. There’s always concern from those families about how their data is being used and whether that is private or not.

So, there are parents who do not meet Medicaid requirements, but their children do?

Exactly. This is one of the misunderstandings people have a lot, particularly in regard Medicaid in Virginia. You do have to be what’s called a qualified immigrant to access benefits, and in most cases, that does require you to have a green card, and to have had that green card for 5 years.

A big hurdle to get over is that you must be a legal permanent resident and have had that legal permanent residence for up to 5 years before you can benefit from the Medicaid program. So, that means a lot of Virginia immigrants don’t qualify.

This 5-year bar is why private insurance is so important, because they can go and purchase plans through the marketplace. Some may even qualify for those nominal tax credits to help pay for some of the premiums, but at the end of the day they’re still paying for insurance.

Because they’re not eligible for Medicaid does not mean their children are not eligible for Medicaid, however. This is where it gets complicated. The vast majority of Americans just sign up through work, and there you go, you’re all covered. It’s more complicated for people who don’t have that, because you may have to sign up for 3 or 4 different programs because every person in the household is in a different program.

Confessions of a Freshman Delegate: A conversation with Chris Obenshain, Republican Delegate for the 41st district

by Jonathan Mususa, politics and government reporter

Chris Obenshain, the Republican Delegate for the 41st House district, at work in his Blacksburg office (Jonathan Mususa, for The News Feed).

As his first term comes to a close, Delegate Chris Obenshain (R–Blacksburg) is preparing to seek another two years in office.

A Montgomery County native, U.S. Army Reservist and former county prosecutor, he entered the 2023 race for the then-new 41st district, containing Blacksburg and rural parts of Montgomery and Roanoke counties. He faced Democratic nominee and Roanoke Delegate Sam Rasoul’s former chief of staff Lily Franklin and won by a margin of 183 votes.

As a freshman legislator, Obenshain joined a Republican caucus that had just narrowly lost control of the House of Delegates. The Commonwealth has since had a fairly evenly divided government, with Republicans in all three statewide positions – Governor Glenn Youngkin, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, Attorney General Jason Miyares – and Democrats narrowly controlling both houses of the General Assembly.

He and Franklin will face each other again in November.

Also, for those who are wondering, he is indeed one of those Obenshains. The late former Virginia Republican Party chairman Richard Obenshain was his uncle and State Senator Mark Obenshain (R–Harrisonburg) is his cousin.

In an interview at his office in Blacksburg, Obenshain spoke about his role as a Delegate, his experiences as a freshman legislator in Richmond, and his approach to public service.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Why would you say you ran for Delegate at the first place?

Really just wanting to be involved to try to make my community a better place. I’ve lived here in Montgomery County for a number of years, I’ve got three kids here – two in the schools here in Montgomery County – and my family’s been here for almost a hundred years. So I really love this community and saw it as an opportunity to really try to continue to make this part of Virginia a great place to live and to work and for people to come and raise their families like I have.

In the wake of your election victory, you said in the Facebook post after the result that “the closeness of this election reflects the division we see across our nation.” Do you see your role as a Delegate for this community as helping to ameliorate those divisions in some way?

Absolutely. As a delegate, I represent everyone who lives in this district. I don’t just represent one party or the other. I represent all of those 80,000 people that make up the 41st district. Some of those folks have very different views about what kind of policies they want for the state of Virginia and so, as a Delegate, it’s really my role to engage with those different groups.

I welcome all kinds of different folks with different policy viewpoints into my office during the legislative session. I meet with folks on opposite sides of a lot of different issues and I appreciate those conversations because it helps me to understand what people are thinking, what their desires and hopes are for their families and their communities.

Let’s get to talking about your tenure. How would you say that your experience as a Delegate compares to you were expecting before you took office?

I think largely it’s what I anticipated. I’ve had the opportunity to work in state government before I ran for the House of Delegates. I’ve worked in the Attorney General’s Office in Richmond for eight years so I knew a little bit about state government and kind of how it worked. So a lot of it was similar to what I expected.

The difference is really, during the legislative session, the pace. Our legislative sessions in Virginia are very short: 45 days in odd years, 60 days in even years. So it’s not a lot of time. Bills are moving very fast. For me, the biggest adjustment was adapting to the pace of things and how quickly things move and making sure that I was ready and had read up on the bills before they come to the floor.

What are the best and worst parts of your job?

The worst part of the job is definitely being away from my family during the week. Like I said, I’m a dad of three kids – two of them are in school – and, during the legislative session, I’ve got to be in Richmond during the week. I envy those legislators from the Richmond area who can go home at night and have dinner with their families because I’m three and a half hours away from home. That’s the toughest part of being a legislator: that separation from family.

But the best part is, again, really getting to represent my community and be a voice for my community. I really enjoy when I have the chance to visit with people from back home during the legislative session or after the session. I get to come back home and talk to folks about the things that we’ve done in the legislature from raising teacher and law enforcement pay to cutting taxes, passing legislation that helps people in a variety of different ways. Those are the great opportunities and the things that I really enjoy doing, being able to represent my community and make some positive change for this region.

What would you say to someone who is perhaps considering a run for public office, maybe even for Delegate?

If you’re interested in public office, the most important thing is to become a part of a community. Identify the community that you wanna be a part of and that you want to give back to. If you do that, if you get engaged in your community and you become involved in local issues, then those opportunities, they’ll come around.

I didn’t have any design on running for the House of Delegates. Again, this is home for me. It’s where my family’s been for almost 100 years. I came to work in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and have been in this community for a while. Then redistricting happened. A new district gets drawn and the opportunity is created to step up and do a different job.

I decided to take that step at that time, but I wouldn’t have been in that position to run for this seat in the House of Delegates if I hadn’t made this my home and been a part of this community.

How climate change impacts Indigenous communities

By Emily Southern, science reporter

Eranga Galappaththi, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech, teaches a variety of classes surrounding geography, ecological systems and sustainability.

His research focuses on complex human-environmental system changes and has a strong focus on Indigenous communities across the world.

“I’m trying to understand how Indigenous people or communities experience climate change, specifically within the context of a climate-food-health nexus,” Galappaththi said. “I am also trying to understand the issues and dynamics around how they respond to climate change.”

Galappaththi has strong research partnerships with the Indigenous communities in Sri Lanka, Canada and the Artic. He has published 36 peer-reviewed research articles in leading journals, including The Lancet Planetary Health, Nature Climate Change and One Earth, along with three book chapters. He has contributed to high-profile reports for the United Nations, like the IPCC and FAO. Galappaththi received his doctoral degree from McGill University in Canada.

In an interview last week, Galathappaththi spoke on issues regarding climate change and affected communities.

His comments were slightly edited for length and clarity.

What motivates your passion for focusing on climate change affecting Indigenous communities?

Fifteen years ago, I migrated to Canada because I’m originally from Sri Lanka. After I moved to Canada, I worked in the northern communities reserves which were mostly occupied by Indigenous people.

Within my first three months I connected with those communities. I thought they would be a developed community, but I found that they were a very underdeveloped country. I was very touched, and I connected with those people and that’s how I continued my research with these communities. Slowly after my doctoral degree, I expanded to other countries as well with the help of other researchers and globally connected networks.

Eranga Galappaththi interviewing Indigenous community members in Sri Lanka. Photo courtesy of Eranga Galappaththi.

From your view, what are the biggest impacts of climate change on Indigenous people or minorities?

We have worked with over 100 Indigenous communities internationally and have a network of 14 partner countries as well. Based on this research and the work so far, we found that the way people experience climate change is very different.

Each Indigenous community has their own problems. For example, one community in Sri Lanka might experience tourism related issues because they get more tourists. Indigenous people are used as a tool to do tourism, and they are not given any benefits for doing so. For them, there’s a lot of social power gaps, marginalization, education problems and food security issues.

If you go to the Arctic, they have very different issues. They don’t have roads. They’re isolated communities and they have lot of food related health issues because of nutrition. They’re still highly relying on hunting, trapping and fishing for their food security. It’s because of the isolation and lack of economic opportunities that cause a high level of suicidal rates and high level of drug and violence issues.

These are very complex issues, and each community is affected in different ways. Climate change acts as a central hub for these issues because Indigenous people are still relying on natural systems for their food security.

When they lose their food security it causes food contamination, and they start to face different food related health impacts as well. That’s why I study a nexus of climate-food-health. These topics are interconnected especially when it comes to rural communities.

In your view, why do some individuals remain unconvinced about the reality of climate change?

I travel to places that specifically experience climate change. For example, in the Arctic you can see climate change because these places are totally covered with ice. They experience global warming at a very high level, so when they lose ice and lose their food, it’s obvious that it is real.

The problem is people have trouble believing in something that they can’t see. It’s all evidence based and it has a high-level of research. I contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment reports, and we know it’s real.

Have you seen any like climate change impacts in Blacksburg, Virginia?

I moved from Canada in 2021, and we got a really good snow here that winter. I was so happy. The next couple of years, we have gotten less and less snow each year, at least to my standards.

I’ve heard from a lot of elders here in Blacksburg, that have said we used to get a lot of snow in Blacksburg, but now we don’t. That’s one observation that I have made during my time here. Another thing I have noticed is the predictions. They’re sometimes inaccurate which could be a result of climate change impacts.

How do you think educators could better integrate Indigenous knowledge or concepts into student learning?

Most people limit their education to western knowledge systems. There are non-western knowledge systems like Indigenous knowledge, local knowledge and other knowledge systems. We need to go beyond science to integrate those systems. For example, I invite some of the Indigenous researchers and Indigenous community members to give guest talks with my students, so they get that opportunity.

My aim is to not only deliver knowledge to students, but to create a core learning environment. This makes an equal base learning environment. I want to learn, and they want to learn as well. It turns into a group learning environment; it’s not just reading and studying a textbook.

Do you include approaches or perspectives in your teaching that weren’t part of your own education?

I’m trying to integrate a lot of community perspectives and non-western type of perspectives. I’m really just trying to bring different perspectives into my classroom which was something I didn’t experience.

What advice would you give students who want to pursue research or careers focused on climate resilience and sustainability?

In any research, it’s very important to integrate multiple perspectives and to respect all of them.

Researchers at Virginia Tech Combine Public Health and Geography Expertise to Understand a Concerning Trend.

By: Eli Lamport, science reporter

Dr. Korine Kolivras in her office in Wallace Hall, on Virginia Tech’s campus.

Dr. Korine Kolivras is a medical geographer with more than 20 years of experience in her field. At Virginia Tech, she has embarked on research into the spread of Lyme disease in the New River Valley area.

Dr. Kolivras also teaches several undergraduate courses and works directly with graduate students in Virginia Tech’s Department of Geography. I sat down with Dr. Kolivras to discuss her background, research, and thoughts on the current state of science in the United States.

(Editied for clarity)

You describe yourself as a medical geographer. Can you elaborate on that? What does that mean? What does your day-to-day look like?

Stepping back a little bit, as a geographer we study why things are where they are. So some people call it the science of where, because we’re understanding why is that type of plant here and not there? Why is this city here and not somewhere else? So I study why diseases and health concerns are where they are, what factors are unique to making certain places healthy or less healthy and also how diseases spread from place to place. So day to day, I do research related to that.

How do medical geographers work alongside other kinds of geographers, and what other fields does your work overlap with?

Yeah, so I collaborate with people within geography as well as in other fields and disciplines. It’s pretty interdisciplinary. So, within geography, we’re trying to figure out where diseases are, but oftentimes that’s where certain insects are. So it’s like, where are ticks living? Where they’re living, we’ve found that Lyme disease is higher, where we have land cover change, where we have different land covers next to each other. So a forest, a large forest patch next to a farm field, for example, that’s the type of place where we would have Lyme disease more typically. And so I could work with bio-geographers and people that study land cover change. And then outside of geography, I collaborate with people in epidemiology and public health, but also, I could collaborate with people in sociology, because they understand population patterns and population level decision making within society.

How did you end up in this field? Do you remember a moment where you realized this is what you wanted to do long term?

First of all, in K-12 education we don’t get a really good understanding of what geographers do. Students come into my class, and it’s just like memorizing capitals and where rivers are and stuff. That’s not really what we do, you know, the location of things is definitely important, but it’s more about what else is going on in that place?

In college, I started out as a Spanish major because I love to travel. I love languages, and then I just randomly took a geography class. And I’m like, oh my gosh, this is where the cool stuff is, the stuff that I’m excited about. So I switched my major to geography. And actually, it was my senior year of undergrad when I first took a medical geography class. It was fascinating to combine this idea of geography and why things are where they are, with thinking about human health. It also made me realize that I could do research that could make a difference. I feel like everyone deserves good health, and so by doing this kind of research, it could help with that. So I went on, I got my master’s degree and then my PhD doing medical geography related work.

You have done extensive research on Lyme disease trends within Virginia. Can you tell me more about that process, and why Lyme disease continues to spike in this area?

I first got started working on it a little over 15 years ago when the Virginia Department of Health noted that Lyme diseases were increasing in Virginia. I think the number of cases tripled over a 20 year span, and they were looking to do a study to try to understand why that was happening. And so that’s when I first got started on it. And then eventually I got funding from the National Science Foundation, which was critical in getting this research started and trying to understand Lyme diseases spread. Early on, we had a lot of cases around northern Virginia. There’s a lot of people living there. There’s also a lot of suburbanization. Suburban areas are often hotspots for the disease. Starting around 2014, the New River Valley was a hot spot. We had a lot of cases down here. So my research is centered around trying to understand why that spread happened and why some places have high rates of Lyme disease and some places have low rates.

Even when we standardize and adjust by population, some areas stand out as having a lot of cases. And so what we found is that within plots of land that had high rates of forest patches next to herbaceous land. So like a pasture, a farm field, you know, grassy areas, those were the census tracks that had the highest rates of Lyme disease. And honestly, if you drive around, that’s what a lot of neighborhoods around Blacksburg are like. And honestly it’s kind of a cultural thing where that’s what we want our suburban developments to look like. We want to live in areas where you’re close to forest or greenspace, which is understandable, but at the same time, it supports this Lyme disease cycle.

How do you feel about the state of your field going forward?

I’ll speak about science more broadly. The United States has been an innovator and leader within science for decades. Developing new things, new solutions, discoveries. And I am a bit concerned about the decreased focus on research funding that we’ve seen recently. I’ve gotten funding from the NSF, and that’s definitely something that could be in jeopardy. Science research is so important, and I’m not just saying that as a researcher, but also as a member of the public.

Almost Two Years In: The Effects of MCPS Cellphone Policies at Christiansburg Middle School

By Emily Dorsey, politics and government reporter

I sat down with Joseph Caldwell, an assistant principal at Christiansburg Middle School, to discuss the effects of cellphone policies he sees day to day.

CMS has implemented phone policies beginning in March 2024, ahead of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order 33, which took effect Jan. 1, 2025. CMS began with prohibiting cell phones and other electronic devices during the school day. By June 2024, all Montgomery County Public Schools issued a county-wide policy. In its final guidance for cellphone-free education, the Virginia Department of Education in September 2024 established the “bell-to-bell” cell phone-free policy.

Caldwell has 16 years of teaching experience including transition programs for students with behavior challenges, civics and economics and U.S. history from 1865 to present. Last year was his last year teaching in the classroom before this administrative role. Looking back on the last 17 months, Caldwell addresses the support from the community, policy details that acknowledge unique circumstances and the next challenge the education system is facing: artificial intelligence.

Caldwell’s comments were edited slightly for length and clarity.

Joseph Caldwell, assistant principal at Christiansburg Middle School. (Courtesy of Joseph Caldwell)

MCPS was doing cellphone free school days last academic year. In January, a bell-to-bell phone ban was implemented. What changes, positive or negative, have you seen with that extra implementation?

Students are more engaging academically than they were previously. Technology still tends to be a challenge; now the technology is Chromebooks. We’ve been trying this year, as an administrative team, to communicate with teachers to use Chromebooks less than they are used to because students will find ways to be distracted. They are really quick about flipping tabs. Even though there is software teachers can use to monitor it, teachers get more distracted with management than they do teaching.

Students on a limited English proficiency plan or students with disabilities have access to programs on their phone or Chromebook. Why is it important for these students to have access to certain platforms other students may not have?

We will still make exceptions for students to use it [phones] for tools like translating purposes. Students with monitoring devices for their diabetes are allowed to carry their phones. That is just a different conversation we have with those students. And then there’s also 504 plans and IEPs in place that allow for that. But a lot of the tools that students would need their phone for, their Chromebook can serve that purpose, as well.

According to Cardinal News, policy violation does not lead to suspension or expulsion without being tied to an instance of disruptive behavior. Why is it important for administrators to see the differences between certain circumstances?

State law doesn’t allow us to expel students for phones. The heaviest punishment we have in our policy is to assign Saturday school and that’s either on the third or fourth offense. Those consequences become inconvenient enough for the parent that we usually don’t get that far. We have other systems in place, for students that need that technology, that becomes part of a bigger conversation. Like being responsible with technology and how they use it.

How do you or the MCPS staff navigate various parent or student opinions regarding these state laws?

We had a lot of positive support from the community. Last year we allowed it [cellphones] during bus-wait in the morning and afternoon, while other schools in the county did not. This year we became even more restrictive because we changed it to where they couldn’t have it during bus-wait and I expected a lot of push back from that, but we didn’t have any. We had a couple road bumps along the way, but for the most part parents didn’t say anything.

What day-to-day changes have you seen in students as a teacher over these couple of years with the cellphone policies implemented?

As a teacher I have observed the changes in young people not just phones, but screens in general. I observed a noticeable decline in academic achievement in my first decade of teaching. I started to unofficially poll my students asking them who owned phones. Those that didn’t, were more academically successful than those that did. Now, there’s not really an observable difference because most young people have some kind of screen in front of them at some point during the day. Behaviorally what I have observed in the building are kids being more social with one another.

How do you see the future of cellphone policy usage in schools?

I don’t see it changing any, we aren’t seeing a lot of public pushback from it. I think they [families] see the challenges of technology, too, so I think they are supportive of it [current cellphone policies]. If anything the bigger conversation is centering around what to do with AI.

Students seem to rely on AI as a crutch versus a resource. How should teachers and administrators approach AI in the classroom? Do you see a benefit to this technology as a learning function or is it disruptive like cellphones?

I see it costing students more at this point, since traditional classroom practices require us to process information deeper to get to places of real understanding. I think it needs to be a part of classroom conversations, but, at least for middle schoolers, not sure it is something that needs to be handed over to them. Most often we do have students use it [AI] to cheat which most of the time is blatantly obvious. Also, if it is used for feedback from a teacher to a student I believe it only weakens the role of the teacher to build authentic relationships with her/his students.

The benefits of not using cellphones definitely extend after the school day. Research shows the harmful correlations between cellphones and children. How can families help support this cause outside the classroom? How and why should students limit their cellphone usage even outside the classroom?

I think this goes for all of us, not just young people. I know that I am impacted by it, and now that I have been mindful of it, I know how it impacts me. At the end of the day, we don’t like people telling us what to do. It’s not really effective for genuine buy-in to bring change. I think parents need to be mindful of their use of technology in the home as well as the young people they are raising.

“What We Were Wearing” – Virginia Tech Student Exhibit Advocating for Survivors

By: Zain Omar, arts & culture reporter

In collaboration with the Women’s Center at Virginia Tech, graduating senior Courtney Bergeron, debuted an installation titled “What We Were Wearing”. The exhibit was part of Bergeron’s homecoming platform, Consent with Courtney, and was on display in Newman Library from April 21st until May 1st.

The exhibit showcased clothing that local victims were wearing when they became a victim to sexual assault. The purpose of the exhibit is to challenge thoughts that what a person is wearing is equivalent to consent. The clothing in the exhibit represents a range of ages and genders, showing exactly what the person was wearing when the act happened.

Bergeron’s personal experience with sexual assault was the main motivator to start Consent with Courtney. “As a victim of sexual assault, I made it my mission to help others just like me. I faced a lot of challenges when going through the medical and legal process and most of it was from lack of knowledge. I knew if I could have a platform, I could spread information I wish I had,” Bergeron said.

After Bergeron’s own sexual assault case was dismissed, she decided she wanted to make a change. Bergeron shared her story on the Consent with Courtney Instagram to show others they were not alone and to better educate everyone on the subject. She became a victim to sexual assault her freshman year at Virginia Tech and the Women’s Center was one of the main advocacy sources Bergeron worked with.

In a statement on Consent with Courtney’s official account, Bergeron stated, “Instead of harboring anger for my situation, I took that hate and turned it into passion to help others just like me. I never want anyone to go through what I went through.”

“What Were You Wearing” exhibits have gained popularity worldwide. With a rise in activism against sexual violence and campaigning to give voices to all victims of sexual assault, exhibits dismantling the stigma against sexual assault have become an international trend.

The What Were You Wearing exhibit was first conceptualized when The Director of The Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center at the University of Kansas, Jen Brockman and Dr. Mary A. Wyandt-Hiebert from the University of Arkansas Rape Education Center, attended a reading of Dr. Mary Simmerling’s poem “What I Was Wearing”. The poem touches on Simmerling’s feelings of dealing with the aftermath of sexual assault and having everyone ask her about the outfit she was wearing, as if that caused it.

According to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center at the University of Kansas, “Dr. Wyandt-Hiebert and Ms. Brockman wanted to create a project that would place the work of bearing witness to this question’s answer back on the shoulders of the community and humanize the survivor in the answer. To ask the question, ‘what were you wearing?’ cost the questioner nothing, there is no labor in making this statement. However, the survivor must pay dearly in not only their answer but also, in the burden of self-blame.”

One of the largest exhibits of this kind was held by the United Nations. The exhibit originally had 5 outfits, each representing a different region in the world. By July 2022, the exhibit grew to feature 103 outfits. These outfits represent the 1.3 billion sexual assault survivors worldwide.

The United Nations exhibit had many celebrities, business leaders, and influential figures from around the world sharing their stories of sexual assault. The United Nations exhibit put the issue on a grand scale to show no matter where you are from or what you are wearing, the fault is not with the victim.

The exhibit is meant to show that clothing does not offer consent or permission. Sexual assault can happen in any outfit, at any age, and any place. These exhibits ensure survivors that what they were wearing is not what caused their assault, it was the person who committed the act.

“It’s not the clothing that causes sexual violence; it’s the person who causes harm. Being able to find that peace for survivors and that moment of awareness for communities is the real motivation behind the project,” stated Brockman in an interview with Huff Post.

Courtney not only wants to help provide a platform for survivors but also educate everyone on the concept of victim blaming, especially around sexual assault.

“I hope they see that sexual assault can happen to anyone at any time. Clothing is not consent. It does not determine your safety or your worth. The only way to end this horrible issue is to come together as community, educate ourselves, and support survivors,” Bergeron said.

The Women’s Center at Virginia Tech provides advocacy and care to women facing any issue related to sex or gender. The CARES program has a direct focus on advocacy to victims of sexual assault and other forms of harm.

“CARES stands for campus advocacy, resources and education for survivors, so our primary objective is to just provide support and advocacy to students, faculty and staff of all gender identities that have experienced any kind of sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking or harassment. We do that primarily through advocacy-based counseling, we also do a lot of resource recommendations and accompaniments. For example, some of the resources that are available for students is the Title IX office and the Virginia Tech Police Department or the Blacksburg PD. With accompaniments, what that means is we can go with students or faculty who are making reports or meeting with Title IX or the police to kind of act as a third-party, emotional support person, so they don’t have to go through the process alone,” said Bailey Williams, Advocacy Coordinator for CARES.

The Women’s Center also has resources for students and faculty to better educate themselves on sexual and domestic violence. They host events and give presentations to classes and organizations to help them learn more about the Women’s Center and how to get more involved. The Women’s Center also has a webpage where they have all the advocacy resources that they provide listed.

Bailey Williams said, “Obviously doing the research is always a big part of that, taking the time to really understand what consent is, why sexual violence occurs, there’s a lot of really great research and literature out there. Coming to events hosted by the resources that are designed to aid students following an assault is also a big one, we do a lot of tabling and outreach events. Organizations and classes can also request presentations from us. Keeping an eye out for what the resources have available and take the time to do outside research.”

The community of Blacksburg saw the exhibit as a source of comfort and solace, especially those who are victims of sexual assault. Students and other community members felt welcome to share their stories and open about their own experiences.

“I received several messages from survivors and families of survivors reaching out and thanking me for speaking out on this sensitive topic. There is such a stigma around sexual assault and people are scared to talk about it. I am continuously trying to break the stigma. Having the people of this community reach out and let me know that I was helping them was genuinely so rewarding. I said when I started this all if I helped just one person this would all be worth it, and I feel like I really achieved that goal,” Bergeron said.

Bergeron hopes to continue making a difference with her platform after graduation. While she will no longer be in Blacksburg, the Women’s Center at Virginia Tech hopes to keep the legacy going.

“Unfortunately, I will be graduating, so I will be continuing my fight in Northern Virginia. However, we raised over $1000 for the Women’s Center to continue their support of sexual assault victims and educating the community. They hope to make this an annual event,” Bergeron said.

While Bergeron will not be in Blacksburg to continue her platform in the future, the Women’s Center is hoping to keep educating students. The Women’s Center is available to any students and community members looking to learn more or find support regarding sexual assault.

A semester of protests at Virginia Tech

By Wilbert Ramirez, politics reporter

Student protests were frequently observed during the 2025 Spring Semester at Virginia Tech in response to rapid changes made by federal and university administrations.

The protests were from a large variety of different student organizations that had different goals in mind against university policy regarding Virginia Tech’s policy changes due to the new Presidential administration in the United States.

On Jan. 20, President Donald J. Trump enacted executive order 14151 titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing,” which stirred confusion among universities and educational institutions around the United States – Virginia Tech included.

Student researchers at the university underwent a “chilling effect” regarding speaking publicly about their research in fear of retaliation from the Presidential administration. Virginia Tech students questioned from the Diplomacy Lab and other social science research requested The Newsfeed for anonymity to speak freely without fear of retaliation to themselves or their colleagues.

A protest by the Students United Front began on Feb. 21 with students protesting any future action of letting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE on to Virginia Tech’s campus. The SUF’s worries were propelled by earlier emails sent out by university admin on Feb. 18 discussing what staff such as professors should do if an ICE officer is seeking a student in their classes with bulleted topics regarding “points of contact, private spaces, and communications and rights.”

The situation regarding student protests was then galvanized following the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil on March 8 of a pro-Palestinian student leader at Columbia University who was detained by ICE officers after his green card was revoked.

The next protest of many at Virginia Tech was an emergency protest march by the organization “Students for Justice in Palestine,” which met and marched from the Pylons memorial at the university to the townhall in downtown Blacksburg. The organization called for Virginia Tech to divest from Israel and weapons manufacturing organizations that supply the Israeli military.

The protest was in response to the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel being broken by the state of Israel.

Shahed Sanuri (seen left holding megaphone) and pro-Palestinian student Protesters gather at the Pylons memorial at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA. Wednesday March 19, 2025 (Photo, Wilbert Ramirez)

“There’s no time for us to debate whether we should be fighting for Palestine or fighting against injustice because it’s Palestinians today and it’s happening to us today, but it could be anybody else tomorrow.”
Shahed Sanuri

Shahed Sanuri, a first-year graduate student at Virginia Tech and co-president for Students for Justice in Palestine is an ardent supporter of the Palestinian rights and recognition.

The largest and most diverse of the protests organized was the march for civil and human rights in response to the board of visitors decision to eliminate the DEI office at Virginia Tech on March 25. The march involved a wide coalition of many organizations such as Black mindedness, Students United Front, Students for Justice in Palestine, and students from varieties of backgrounds. Approximately upwards of 1000 people participated in the march according to organizers of the march.

Protesters gather in front of the Skelton Inn at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA. Tuesday March 25, 2025 (Photo, Wilbert Ramirez)

“It’s one thing to be able to get 1000 people to show up one day, and it’s when you’re comparing it like qualitatively, how does getting 1000 people to show up one day compare to getting 50 to 100 people to show up every single week, you know, for months, right?,” said Cameron Baller, a PhD student in Sociology at Virginia Tech with a Bachelors in Natural Resources and Environmental Science, Minors in Gender and Women’s studies and Economic with an interest in researching social movements. “That’s another kind of lens in which I would be thinking about the history, the recent history of protest on this campus.”

The board of visitors at Virginia Tech went through with the vote to eliminate the DEI office at Virginia Tech in a 12 to 2 vote.

Another moment that galvanized students at Virginia Tech to protest involved the sudden revoking of international student visas around the country including seven Virginia Tech students and 2 alumni on April 9.

President Tim Sands of Virginia Tech released a statement issuing information to assist those who may have been affected.

The following day on April 10 the “Latino Association for Student Organizations” carried out a protest marching through campus against ICE enforcement and student speakers noted the revocation of the international student visas as one their largest grievances in speaking out against the U.S. presidential administration’s decision.

Student protesters gather at the Pylons memorial at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA. Thursday April 10, 2025 (Photo, Wilbert Ramirez)

“It’s very heartbreaking and disheartening to see how higher education administrations don’t really give mind to why students are protesting and they’re not really trying to find an active solution towards that,” said Tiffany Suarez the newly elected president of Latino’s for Student Organizations at Virginia Tech and an undergraduate majoring in environmental policy and planning and political science. “I feel like I’ve been seeing a lot of protests, almost every week, and the result of that has honestly just been the administration, turning their back on us not being responsive, not wanting to be at the table and constantly making up excuses about their unwillingness to cooperate with the students.”

The Trump administration reversed the decision of revoking the student visas on April 25 following numerous lawsuits contesting the terminations of visas.

The organization “VTforClimateJustice” held a climate protest on Earth Day, April 22, in front of Burruss Hall that then proceeded to march across campus and ended at the Pylons. The grievances by the organizers consisted of calls for Virginia Tech’s administration to be more transparent regarding Virginia Tech’s climate goals and where the university was currently at in meeting said goals.

In one of the final major protests on Virginia Tech’s campus this semester, Students for Justice in Palestine had a 1-year anniversary protest remembering the arrest of 82 pro-Palestinian protestors that included 53 students the year prior on April 29, 2024 following their 3-day encampment.

The protestors called for the need to stay strong to their cause of getting Virginia Tech to divest from Israel and weapons manufacturers at a time in which rapid changes are shifting against protesting on college campuses around the nation and at Virginia Tech.

The protests and their frequency at Virginia Tech this spring semester signaled an immediate resistance to the rapid, uncertain, and wide range of changes that began with the Trump administration and its combativeness against higher education institutions that challenge the president.

The largest of the educational institutions to rally against the U.S. president is Harvard in Boston Massachusetts, which sued the administration for freezing $2.2 billion in funding to the university. The Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism of the Trump administration announced the freeze in funding because of the university’s failing to protect its Jewish students after Harvard refused to comply with a list of demands from the administration.

Student protests around the nation culminated under a time of great uncertainty for their rights and causes depending on their citizenship, international status, and background.

“I think to be a protester, especially during this administration is to have the courage to stand up for something, knowing that there could be legal implications involved.”
Tiffany Suarez

“I think there’s a level of courage that we haven’t seen beforehand in the student protesters on campus – people knowingly going out and protesting given that people are getting their visas revoked.” Said Suarez. “People are actively getting targeted by ICE officials because of their support for either Palestine or criticism of the current administration. I think that shows a new level of courage that I don’t think we haven’t seen in college campuses in quite a while.”

DEI Removal Sparks A Semester of Outrage at Virginia Tech

By Nyles Stone, politics reporter

(Nyles Stone/ Politics Reporter) Picture taken from the We Will Not Go Back Civil and Human Rights March

The start of the Spring 2025 semester at Virginia Tech was marked with uncertainty among students and faculty alike due to the January 20^th executive order 14151, which was aimed at dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across all federal institutions. Many faculty grappled with the anxiety of the potential changes, while students all around the campus came together and planned for change, the professors, faculty, and staff were struggling to find a voice.

Dr. Brandy Faulkner, Professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences talks about the uncertainty the DEI removal brings, and the amount of stress it caused to faculty when it was first announced.

“There was so much uncertainty. Nobody really knew what was going to happen or where we would end up. And so, there was nervousness, there was some fear, there was anxiety.”
Dr. Brandy Faulkner, Professor at Virginia Tech

The executive order, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” mandated the termination of all DEI-related mandates, policies, programs, scholarships, funding, and activities associated with federal agencies. Furthermore, all DEI-related workers were forced to go on paid administrative leave Jan. 22. The order characterized DEI as causing a divide, promoting that special treatment was being given instead of equality, a claim that drew backlash from educators nationwide. Public universities like Virginia Tech that rely on federal funding followed suit with the executive orders, with many universities getting rid of grants, academic programs, and student and faculty support services tied to DEI.

In response to the executive order, the Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors came together to discuss the potential outcomes, and on March 25, the Board of Visitors voted to dissolve the university’s Office for Inclusive Strategy and Excellence, which oversaw more than 700 DEI programs across the university. This led to speculations of things that could be removed from classes, funding, and student organizations. The Board of Visitors decision sparked outrage around the campus, leading to protest outside of The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center, where the Board of Visitors gathered to make their decision. Students, Faculty, and Staff all gathered in dismay over the decision to get rid of the DEI programs, with over 1,000 people in attendance.

(Nyles Stone/ Politics Reporter) Students and Citizens of Blacksburg Gathered at The Inn at Virginia Tech

“Absolutely, there was fear about classes like Africana Studies getting shut down, because we didn’t know,” Dr. Faulkner said. “We don’t yet have the answers to whether some of our courses are going to disappear, whether they might be renamed, whether the content will have to change. So, there is still a whole lot of uncertainty, even as we are at the end of the semester and already thinking about next year.”

The environment of fear and speculation paralyzed many departments, with an alarming amount of distress on whether some faculty were going to able to keep their jobs. “There was a lot of hesitancy. Nobody wants to be a target,” Faulkner explained. “It felt sometimes that to even talk about was to just speculate because we had nothing concrete.”

For Faulkner and other Virginia Tech faculty and staff, the implications of the DEI removal are deeply imbedded into their professional workplace. “That fear of the unknown is still continuing. Some things have been solidified; we know research funding for NSF grants and NEH, much of it has been taken away if it was classified as DEI-related,” she said. “Now there are more conversations about those kinds of things and how we will move forward, but you still see a lot of hesitancy.”

Yet, even with the removal of DEI-related programs and the Office for Inclusive Strategy and Excellence, none of this was new to Dr. Faulkner.

“As a black faculty member at a predominantly white institution, I have to assume day to day that this could happen at any time, that’s my lived experience,” Faulker said. “We know, if we study history, when there are gains, there will always be pushback and plans to undo the progress.”

This semester brought tough conversations into the classroom for Dr. Faulkner. With the loss of a grant and gaining more evidence of what Faulkner calls the university’s “constant and open opposition” she remains determined, aiming to stay vigilant, reminding students and faculty that they must continue moving forward. Dr. Faulkner even expressed happiness for the powerful student leadership seen on campus. “I’ve been so proud to see students decide that they are going to be engaged, to do what they can to protect not only themselves, but their community.”

When reminiscing about a moment of student leadership that stands out, Dr. Faulkner mentioned the We Won’t Go Back March for Civil and Human Rights, highlighting the march as something she was proud of. With the march being organized by multiple student organizations, Faulkner iterated her happiness for Black Mindedness founder Emon Green, with him being at the forefront of many of the university protests.

(Nyles Stone/ Politics Reporter) Picture of Dr. Brandy Faulkner at the We Won’t Go Back Civil and Human Rights March

The civil rights march stood as a reminder for Dr. Faulkner, with the thousands of students, faculty, and staff in attendance, it showed Faulkner that she is not alone, saying that “there are plenty of people who don’t want us to take these progressive steps backwards.”

Despite the Board of Visitors decision, organizations like Black Mindedness have continued to advocate for inclusivity and community support. “Honestly, with Black Mindedness, it’s not difficult. Our organization has no affiliation with Virginia Tech, so we aren’t subject to the immediate impact of these type of decisions.” said Emon Green, a senior majoring in philosophy, politics, and economics and founder of Black Mindedness. “I think we will face a generative type of difficulty that comes with the process of building alternatives for what is being taken away with the dismantling of DEI.”

(Nyles Stone/ Politics Reporter) Picture of Emon Green at the We Won’t Go Back Civili and Human Rights March

Julia Alexander, a senior majoring in wildlife conservation at Virginia Tech voiced her frustration with the dismantle of DEI and the Board of Visitors decision. I’m disappointed by the removal of DEI positions and the insensitive impression of the Board of Visitors towards the protesting students,” said Alexander.

While Alexander, unlike Emon, is not a part of organizations aimed at building community, she found the use of DEI beneficial when needing someone to talk to. With her majoring lying in the College of Natural Resources and Environment, a college according to an article published by College Factual, 78% of students in the College of Natural Resources and Environment are White, with African American making up only 1.7% of the college.

“As a student at Virginia Tech, I looked to the director of DEI in my college for advice, it felt more comfortable speaking with someone who understands the perspective of a minority at a predominantly white institution,”
Julia Alexander, Wildlife Conservation Student

Alexander elaborated that DEI was something symbolic, talking about the use of cultural centers in the Squires Student Center, the living-learning communities, and the acknowledgements of an inclusive campus all around the university. Alexander, who stayed three-years in the Ujima living-learning community talked about how communities like Ujima helped get opportunities that tailored to minority groups, “It was a way to stand out and get opportunities, DEI has supported my success in college, and I wouldn’t have as many professional and personal development opportunities without it.”

As the spring semester comes to a close and the effects of the executive order continue to unfold, the Virginia Tech campus remains caught between student outcry, and faculty hesitancy. While academic grants, programs, and voices within the institution have dwindled, many within the community are finding ways to speak out, with organizations like Black Mindedness continuing to advocate for civil justice

“It makes me mad as hell. I’m angry. People have poured their hearts, their time, their energy into making Virginia Tech better, a more welcoming, inclusive, fair, and equitable campus, To see that work just wiped away makes me extremely angry.”
Dr. Brandy Faulkner