” Well here we are at the end of another Virginia Tech academic year which has included a fierce battle to preserve Stadium Woods from development. Plans by the Athletic department to build in the old, growth white oak forest have been dismantled and laid to waste based on biological, economical, social and spiritual grounds. However, the 800 pound gorilla known as the Virginia Tech Athletic Department has not relented. Let’s summarize all the different groups who are in favor of preserving all of Stadium Woods:
- Virginia Tech Arboretum Committee
- Virginia Tech Faculty Senate
- Virginia Tech, College of Natural Resources and Environment Faculty Association
- Virginia Tech Student Government Association
- Virginia Tech Commission on Student Affairs
- Environmental Coalition of Virginia Tech
- Virginia Tech Army ROTC
- Blacksburg Town Council
- Virginia Sierra Club
- Mid Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America
- Over 8,600 petition Signers
AND last but not least, Virginia Tech is opposed to building in Stadium Woods based on its own Master Plan.
How else is left to weigh in on the decision to preserve Stadium Woods? Perhaps Virginia Tech is waiting on an opinion to be received from 100-meter Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia which is searching for signals from extraterrestrials.”