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The best thing about Virginia Tech is the atmosphere and spirit. There is nothing better than walking accross the drillfield on a beautiful day. I am in love with hokie stone and all of the beautiful buildings made from it. Our duckpond is gorgeous, and there is so much to do on campus. But even better than the physical surroundings is the atmosphere. There is just something in the air on our campus. Everyone is so happy and proud to be a hokie. Some people will try to say that VT is too large. I disagree. I LOVE the fact that I can come to know SO MANY amazing people on this campus, and yet I can still go out and meet new people every single chance I get. And with so much to get involved in at Virginia Tech, you forget that the university is so large. It just seems like such a tight knit community, even if that community happens to be made up of tens of thousands. People have a great reaction when I tell them I go to Virginia Tech. There is a lot of national hokie pride and love. I run into alums everywhere I go, and it seems I can't go anywhere with Virginia Tech clothing on without someone yelling "GO HOKIES!" to me. I spend a lot of my time on campus at dining halls, the duck pond, the drillfield, and Squires student center (aside from my classrooms of course.) Blacksburg is DEFINITELY a college down. The entire town of Blacksburg is bursting with hokie pride, and there is NOWHERE else anyone would want to be than Lane Stadium on gameday. The whole town practially shuts down to come show support when there is a large event going on on campus. I have a very high opinion of our administration here at Virginia Tech. After the tragedies of April 16th, President Steger received a large amount of criticism that I personally feel was undeserved. He acted courageously and the best that he could under such difficult cir***stances. While the media and other outsiders tried to put him down and blame him for certain things, I do not know a single student that didn't give him a standing ovation any time he spoke after the events took place. There is MORE SCHOOL PRIDE HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE! I have yet to visit another university in my 4 years of college that is bursting with pride like we are. Everyone is so happy to be here, and so proud to be a hokie. The experience I'll remember most during my time here took place during the Concert for Virginia Tech, during the fall semester following April 16th. At one point, the Dave Matthews Band broke into a cover song, and without any prompting, the ENTIRE STADIUM began singing the one hook of the song over and over... "Dont' worry about a thing, 'cause every little thing is gonna be alright." The band eventually just completely stopped playing and stared in awe at the whole stadium singing and waving their hands. I remember having tears pouring down my face as I sang, and it brings tears to my eyes now just thinking about it. I think that was the point when I truly knew that we were on the road to recovery as a community. I will never forget that night or those feelings.
Sarah Senior
Since April 16th is still recent, people who i meet on interviews associate VT with that. As far as the school as a whole, it is large and there are so meny wonderful people to meet. I recommend getting involved in order to meet people. Student complaints: VT Parking Services and difficulty in finding convenient parking.
The best thing about Virginia Tech... the people!! The students are so personable and friendly. I was immediately drawn to this school just by taking a tour and seeing the students walking around. Everyone is so happy to be here and always wearing a smile. We have amazing school pride. Maroon and Orange is in our blood. The atmosphere is wonderful and Blacksburg is a great college town. The school's size is just right. You can walk across campus and see 15 people you know and 100 new faces. VT is a never-ending network of friends. There are too many great experiences to name just one. I've had awesome times at football games, tubing the new river, hiking the cascades with friends, and just hanging out on campus.
Ashley Junior
Normalcy, I stated, reverberates throughout campus, but this is more probable on the weekdays...football season is a different story. You want insanity? Go to Lane Stadium and see the painted and costumed blurs of maroon and orange that bellow chants at every play. Football season is one of my favorite times of the year. Everyone comes together as Hokies and lives in the moment with the players on that field. Call it crazy, but I call it pride. That has to be the best part of being at VT: Pride. The April 16th shootings, which had the capability to crush this community, only sent a newly vamped stream of pride throughout the student body. WE WILL PREVAIL. There is a great respect towards students at Virginia Tech, it is no doubt a prestigious and goal-oriented group of young adults. Now though, after April 16th, people react differently when I say I come to Tech. Consistent questions arise about 'what it is like now' and 'do I feel safe'...I know these questions come from people who haven't recently stepped onto our campus. Just look at the drill field as the sun sets against the hokiestone buildings. One canÕt help but just feel lucky and privileged to be here. No, itÕs not for the Ivy League preps with loafers, but itÕs for me, its home. The hokiestone can at first be intimidating and disorienting- as can be the statistic of a 27,000 strong student body, but give it a week and you will be joking about how badly Pritchard smells and complaining about an 8 oÕclock in Derring. It may be a huge campus, but itÕs all very consolidated and organized. You can walk everywhere. Downtown Blacksburg, which is also in walking distance, holds the pubs, restaurants, and clothing stores that provide everything from a cute date to a Ôcrazy night on the townÕ but if you need a new trash bin or razors youÕll have to head out to Wal-mart in Christiansburg which is still only a short bus ride away. In Christiansburg there are more chain restaurants, the mall, the movie theater, and contains most any store you would need. Parking is horrible. If you leave your car for 3 minutes Parking Services will make their rounds and tag you with a $30 ticket. Also, getting tickets to sporting events is a very choppy system that, although it doesn't favor any certain group, it kind of screws everyone over. The lottery system makes it so people very rarely get tickets when they want them. I know people that have gotten all but one football ticket and others that ONLY got one. The system is unfair and I don't understand why everyone cannot have a ticket if they want one like other schools.
Kelley Freshman
Melanie Freshman
The best thing is not a thing. It is three things. Firstly, the people. Secondly, the food. And thirdly, the scenery. Because Virginia Tech is such a large school, it can be difficult to make friends immediately. The dorms are a meeting place for many, but for some, involvement in organizations is the best way to meet friends. It can be overwhelming being such a tiny dot on a huge campus, but once you find your niche, the size of the campus becomes an advantage rather than an obstacle. The community is so large and diverse that I truly believe anyone can find friendship. Joining a sorority opens lots of doors, but it's not the only way. Other organizations such as the Student Alumni Association is a great resume builder as well as a way to meet other people trying to get involved. Depending on were your interests lie, academic related organizations are also very social, like the school newspaper or the business fraternities. Moving along, the food is amazing. I believe it's rated among the best in the entire country. Lets face it, food is good. And good food is great. There are so many options, ranging from ABP to a home cooked meal from Westend. And for all the health fanatics, it's very easy to be healthy on campus. It truly is like dining out at a restaurant for every meal. So if you're imagining soggy grilled cheeses and a highschool-ish cafeteria, you're in for something delightful. School pride pervades campus. That's one of the things I love the most about being here. Coming from suburbia in Northern Virginia, there isn't really much pride. Just a bunch of houses. Here, being a Hokie is a way of life. It doesn't stop after graduation either. Hokies are a close knit community despite the large size. It's a very unique dynamic attending a school in such a small town, but with so many students. A small town feel jam packed with diversity. The best of both worlds if you ask me. On to the scenery. There are so many beautiful places. I enjoy taking out the trash from my apartment because as I walk down the stairs I have a beautiful view of mountains. It's breathtaking; definitely better than suburbia. There are also many places to hike in the area, such as my personal favorite, the Cascades. It's a 2 mile hike each way and at the end there's a very large waterfall. When it's warm, you can even get in the water. Speaking of when it's warm- I guess I should mention some downsides of VaTech. It's really not that warm that often. The winter months are tough, lots of gray skies and at least one month of bitter bitter cold. Things are definitely more exciting on campus when the cold subsides. Another downside, though seemingly trivial, is parking. On average, every single student at Virginia Tech gets at least one 30 dollar parking ticket at some point in their college career. Many people get many, many, more. Allow me to introduce exhibit A, my roommate who's gotten 16. Personally I've only gotten one. "Parking services" is ruthless. There's a definite lack of parking on campus, and the guidelines are very vague in many cases- in my view in attempt to give out more tickets. You also have to pay 80 dollars to even be able to park on campus at all during the year. Even having paid your money, you'll spend lots of your time driving in circles trying to get a spot competing against other vultures and slowly driving you mad. My advice is take the bus to class. The Blacksburg Transit can be crowded and annoying, but at least you don't have to fight to the death to park. All in all, freshman year can be tough getting used to the swing of things. But that's true almost anywhere. This school's truly exceeded my expectations for the "college experience".
Hokie1 Senior
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