Abby Whitt
Contributing writer
Last week’s Blacksburg Town Council meeting included a resolution to the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors in regard to the Student Life Village. The resolution, read by Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith, is in response to the Board of Visitors rescinding a 2022 amendment to the Student Life Village Master Plan in March.
The 2022 amendment that was initially adopted “outlined a process to increase residential capacity from 10,500 beds to roughly 13,500,” based on an “intensive study” by independent consultants.
The resolution states that council voiced its support for the Student Life Village in October 2022 via a letter to President Sands.
When the Board of Visitors rescinded the amendment in March, it was done “without reference to any further study or other considerations,” according to council’s resolution.
The council asks that the Board of Visitors rescind its March decisions and “engage in a process that would include additional study of on-campus housing needs, as well as collaboration with appropriate town officials regarding the impact of student housing in Blacksburg.”
Council also requested that the Board of Visitors “freeze the current number of Virginia Tech undergraduate students until additional housing on campus becomes available.”
During the public comment period of the meeting, after the resolution was unanimously passed, Blacksburg resident Charles Shade voiced his approval of council’s action and said, “Virginia Tech can’t meet its responsibility to house students… and Blacksburg can’t afford to pick up the slack.”
Additionally during the May 27 meeting of Blacksburg Town Council, a proclamation was passed, recognizing June 1-7 as Relay for Life Week.
The proclamation lists several reasons for the council’s adoption of it, including the following: “… The lives of many of the citizens of Blacksburg have been touched by cancer and thus they have been drawn to support the continuing research that will find a cure for the disease,” “…The Relay for life of Montgomery County is community-based and driven by volunteers who work together to bring people together to fund the mission of the American Cancer Society,” and “…The Survivors’ Walk during the Relay for Life event celebrates with those who are living with cancer and offers them hope for continued health.”
Relay for Life Week will conclude at the end of the annual event, set for June 7 at Blacksburg Middle School (3109 Prices Fork Rd.). Opening Ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m. Learn more, donate and join the relay at https://secure.acsevents.org/site/STR?pg=entry&fr_id=109826 or by searching “Relay for Life – Montgomery County, VA” on Facebook.
