ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 20, 1996 TAG: 9611200036
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
Virginia Tech residence halls will close for Thanksgiving break at noon Saturday, a compromise lock-up time that lets students pack their cars and go to the big football game against West Virginia University before heading out of town.
"We did experiment a couple of times keeping [dorms] open until the next day when there's a noon game or 4 o'clock game," said Ed Spencer, assistant vice president for student affairs.
But only 100 students stuck around, which didn't justify spending $4,000 to keep 24 dorms open for a night.
Earlier this semester, both the Student Government Association and the Residence Hall Federation tried to persuade Tech administrators to keep the dorms open for an extra day so students could stay in their rooms the night of the game.
After talking with administrators, federation President Jim Friel said he could see their point. "There are a couple of people who weren't so happy the buildings were going to be closed," said Friel, a junior. "It's not the easiest for everyone to deal with."
So here's the schedule: Dorms stay open until noon Saturday - the same time the home game against the Mountaineers starts. They'll reopen Nov. 29 at approximately 6 p.m. That's the same day Tech plays its arch in-state rival, the University of Virginia, at 2:30 p.m. in Blacksburg.
In a memo to dorm-dwellers, the university cautions all to drive safely if returning to Blacksburg that day. It's the day after Thanksgiving - "one of the most traveled days of the year."
Meantime, Radford University students clear out next week for a brief Thanksgiving break, too. Dorms there close at 6 p.m. Tuesday, and reopen at noon Dec. 1.
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