Latest news with #MarkOwczarski
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Virginia Tech community reacts after revoked visas are restored to international students
BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) — 19 Virginia Tech international students and alumni had their legal statuses restored by Monday, April 28. In early April, the federal government revoked the legal statuses of thousands of international students. At Virginia Tech, spokesperson Mark Owczarski says that impacted four undergraduate students, ten graduate students, and five recent graduates. 'While their status changed, they were still able to go to school and continue with their studies but with the pressure and concern they were facing,' he said. Students say it created an atmosphere of uncertainty on campus. 'Because we weren't being told why it was happening. In the cases where a reason was given, it felt sort arbitrary or purposely selected to be a broad range that would apply to the most international students in general,' said one graduate student who knew multiple people impacted. Virginia Tech now offering on-campus recovery housing for students Tech has more than 3,000 international students and only 19 were reported to be affected. Owczarski says they're from several different countries. The university was not told why individual students had their statuses changed. Records were restored after several lawsuits were filed around the U.S. 11 Hokies had their legal status returned Friday and another eight by Monday. However, the government says they're working to adopt a formal policy to revoke records. Owczarski says Virginia Tech will continue to assist students as needed. 'While one's visa status might change, their status as a student at Virginia Tech will never change,' he explained. He says international students are important to the university's mission of learning and research. 'International students, international scholars are critical to that effort because they bring the perspectives and the diversity of thought that is so essential,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Hokies Remember,' Virginia Tech continues to honor the lives lost 18 years ago
BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) – 18 years ago, our region suffered the worst mass shooting in Virginia at Virginia Tech's campus. So we pause to remember those 32 lives lost. Just after midnight on April 16th, a candle was lit at the memorial on Virginia Tech's campus. That candle's flame will burn for 24 hours to show that those lives we lost 18 years ago will never be forgotten. Virginia Tech's campus was somber as many gathered around the April 16th memorial to watch the Corps of Cadets standing in watch. The cadets will be there all day to ensure the flame stays lit. (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery) But it's not just Blacksburg that continues to honor the memory of those we've lost, flags across the commonwealth are at half staff as well. And this past weekend, Tech held its annual 3.2 mile Run in Remembrance, which brought around 15,000 people to Blacksburg. Orange Theory Fitness remembering Virginia Tech shooting victims 'Hokies, remember, and remember those precious lives that were taken from us,' said Mark Owczarski, the spokesperson for the University, 'Regardless of where you are, here in Blacksburg, across the commonwealth, across the nation, nobody should ever have to experience that, sense of loss and Hokies will forever want to remember those lives, but also to remember that we must turn to each other in difficult times to help us through when life is at its most unthinkable.' President Tim Sands and his wife, Dr. Laura Sands laid two wreaths at the memorial at exactly 9:43 a.m., the same time the first shots were fired 18 years ago. A moment of silence followed. Then. President Sands and his wife walked the entirety of the memorial to look at all 32 names. 'Those 32 lives will never be forgotten, and so it has become that sense of tradition. It marks the fact that throughout the entire day Hokies will reflect and recall the impact that those lives could have had, and in the time they were with us, they did indeed have on our lives,' said Owczarski. At 11:27 p.m., the Corps Cadets will stand guard for 32 minutes before extinguishing the candle, bringing it back into Burrus Hall to continue the legacy that's left. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
