The Virginia Tech Environmental Coalition asked us to help distribute their official statement regarding the preservation of Stadium Woods and the Colbert Report invite.
Virginia Tech Administration, Faculty and Staff,
As we are all aware, the Stadium Woods issue here at Virginia Tech has become increasingly apparent among students, faculty, staff, and Blacksburg community members. We do acknowledge and respect the work that the University is doing in resolving this question. As concerned students, we feel that we must extend our knowledge and this concern to as many people as possible. Over the past few months, we have held rallies, passed out information, and informed students and community members about our concerns using various forms of media, including local news. As the issue begins to gain more momentum, so does our commitment to spreading awareness of the importance of careful critical thinking in decision making to preserve those things that benefit and are valued by many.
It is our goal to be very professional and positive to VT athletics, supporters of the Stadium Woods and other community viewpoints throughout the event this Tuesday. The main message of our event is to stress the necessity of the administrative decision makers to critically and carefully think about preserving those things that benefit and are valued by many. We have learned from Virginia Tech’s own classes the necessity of calculated, careful critical thinking to avoid ignorant and foolish outcomes, as also expressed by John Muir in the following quote, “God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.” It is also our purpose to highlight the importance of preserving those things that make us Hokies, which includes the Stadium Woods, football and perhaps most importantly, community.
The effort to invite the Colbert Report to Virginia Tech on May 1 is simply another endeavor in a chain of actions meant to bring attention to this critical issue. The decision of where to build the athletic facility will reflect largely on how Virginia Tech values learning by choosing whether or not to uphold the very values and concepts taught in the courses here. These facts, we hope, will be more broadly understood after the event Tuesday.
As with articles in the Roanoke Times and the Washington Post, it is our hope that the reach of the Colbert Report will allow us to involve even more of the Hokie Nation and its stakeholders in this discussion. We acknowledge, however, the inherently satirical nature of the coverage the Colbert Report is likely to report. Despite this, we believe that this kind of media attention will be able to reach Virginia Tech students in a way otherwise impossible. Our intentions, of course, are not to shine a bad light on the University, but rather, to put a bigger spotlight on the essential consideration of all values that should be the basis of this decision.
We appreciate your continued commitment to support the Environmental Coalition at Virginia Tech and we are looking forward to inventing our future together.
Respectfully,
The Environmental Coalition
