Anyone that goes to this school knows the line “We are Virginia Tech.” A famous line written by Nikki Giovanni after the events that transpired on April 16, 2007. A broken people brought together under a common banner of unity. Division eats at the heart of who we are as a nation. Division has torn this country, quite literally, in half and many other times it divides it up with invisible borders. An “Us versus them” mentality wins out as people try to unite under what they f

Every month, an open mic night is hosted on the first floor of Newman Library. Poems and short stories are presented from writers all across Virginia Tech’s highly talented campus. They share their work for the enjoyment of an attentive audience, an hour and a half of art that reminds the listener of all the styles, genres, and emotions that the written word can encapsulate. However, once a semester, open mic night is dedicated to hilariously reminding us that not all first d

Virginia Tech Union brought comedian Dave Coulier, known best as Uncle Joey from the television show Full House, to Virginia Tech on Wednesday, November 9th. Several students and community members enjoyed his comedic antics in the Squires Haymarket Theatre at 8 pm. He spent a few moments promoting the second season of his new show, Fuller House, featuring all of the Full House characters several years after the original show ended after eight seasons. Following his introducti

As part of the Virginia Tech creative community, sometimes we isolate ourselves from the rest of the university. We also tend to forget that there are other forms of expression besides creative writing, music, or art. Dance is one such medium that can be overlooked and difficult to characterize: is it a sport, an individual or group activity, or an art form? Whatever you think of dance, there’s no question that it is a beautiful form of expression, artistry, talent, and athle

This is about the time of year that the crushing weight of school comes crashing down hardest on many of us. Exam week is bad but the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving are consecutive weeks with a single day of respite since school started up in August. The everyday grind of homework mixed in with big projects and tests has left many of us drained. Even Finals Week comes on the curtails of a long break, a time to recharge and set one’s priorities straight after a week without

On Friday, November 4th, the 9th annual English Career Connections fair was held in Hillcrest and Shanks Halls. It provided an opportunity for current VT English majors to meet with former VT English majors, who are members of the Distinguished Alumni Board (DAB). Over 50 students and 20 DAB members attended. Distinguished alumni members held a variety of professions, including attorney, marketing director, technical writer, judge, teacher, and many others. The event kicked o

Matt Hart, the Associate Professor in Creative Writing and Chair of Liberal Arts at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, read poetry from his two new books on Thursday, November 3. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the poetry journal Forklift. The pieces he read from RADIANT COMPANION and RADIANT ACTION included moments of serious thought, comedy, and heartfelt appreciation for family. Over 100 students, professors, and community members attended his reading, and for much of his pe

The publication of The Silhouette’s Fall 2016 is fast approaching and I had the opportunity to exchange emails with this semester’s cover artist, Bryanna Dering. Bryanna is currently spending a semester abroad but, fortunately, that didn’t stop her from sharing her beautiful work with us back here in the States. She had a gifted eye for capturing dizzyingly beautiful shots and reading her words about her artistic process was equally as captivating: What is your favorite mediu

It is generally agreed that presenting your work is a Very Good Thing. Notice the capitalization, it emphasizes the general consensus of goodness. ‘Good’ as in it allows work to reach a wider audience, for aspiring artists to receive love, feedback. After all, if the act of creating isn’t being witnessed, is anything being created at all? Yet, presenting work isn’t necessarily a good feeling in the moment. After reading, when you’re returning to your seat to the courteous app

Maroon and orange was a welcome sight in the midst of navy blue, white, and grey on Thursday night at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Virginia Tech beat Pitt 39-36 in a nerve-racking back and forth game, and the Hokie fans who were present received the satisfaction of waving out the Pitt fans who had heckled us mercilessly. My fellow Hokie, Sean Pruden, and I skipped Thursday and Friday classes to attend this game in our home state and for me, home city. With many fr