Free Republic

ODU overcomes scary scene involving teammate in win at Georgia State STATESBORO, GA (WAVY) – Members of the Old Dominion men’s basketball team watched in shock, and many held back tears, as their teammate Imo Essien had to be tended to by training staff from both ODU and Georgia Southern on Saturday. Essien, a sophomore guard, appeared to become weak, then collapsed during play in the first half of the contest. After a few tense moments, Essien, who did not appear to lose consciousness, was helped to his feet and walked off the court with the help of the trainers....

The trans Old Dominion professor who defended pedophiles by saying society should refer to them as 'Minor Attracted Persons' has finally resigned after 15,000 people signed an online petition to have them removed from their teaching role. Dr. Allyn Walker, 34, who goes by the pronouns they/them, was placed on leave by Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, last week after a swell of outrage over their remarks and views.

NORFOLK, Va. (Harry Minium, ODUSports.com) - Sonny Allen, who won Old Dominion University's first national championship, built the foundation for ODU's successful Division I basketball debut and integrated Virginia college basketball, passed away peacefully this morning in Reno, Nev. Allen, 84, had suffered for years from Parkinson's Disease and his son, Billy Allen, said the disease had worsened in recent months. Allen's wife, Donna, and four children, including daughters Jackie Eldrenkamp, Kelly Marcantel and Jennifer Allen, were in Reno when he passed, as were step children Jimmy Warner and Tedi Holdmann. Allen is also survived by eight grandchildren and five...

NORFOLK Old Dominion quarterback Blake LaRussa, a former walk-on who will forever hold a place in Monarchs lore for leading a historic upset of Virginia Tech, is walking away, at the height of his career. The redshirt junior from Bishop Sullivan Catholic announced Wednesday that he will forgo his final season of eligibility and enroll in seminary school. "It has been an incredible journey with Old Dominion football, but I would like to announce that I will be moving on from football after I graduate this spring and will be going into full-time ministry," LaRussa said in a statement released...

NORFOLK An Old Dominion University statistics professor has apologized for a strongly worded email that told a group of faculty, administrators and graduate students “screw you” and “you are not American” if they didn’t plan to attend any of a series of events centered around diversity. Associate professor Norou Diawara sent the email to members of ODU’s Coalition of Black Faculty and Administrators and a list of statistics graduate students Monday afternoon saying he was “not happy at all, with the state of the affairs in the USA. It is very sad we have come to this level.” He said...

Ohio State University Assistant Director of Residence Life Stephanie Clemons Thompson may have urged sympathy for suspected Monday attacker Abdul Razak Ali Artan in a Facebook post. The Daily Caller News Foundation was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the post, and Clemons was unavailable for comment at press time. Clemons apparently repeated urging for her friends not to share the Facebook post, suggesting she was aware of the controversial nature of her language. Artan emigrated to the U.S. in 2014, NBCNews reports. Artan was a refugee whose family left Somalia in 2007, spent seven years in Pakistan,...

Just before the new semester kicked off at Old Dominion University, some un-"welcome" signs have resulted in a fraternity's suspension. Parents bringing their freshmen students to move-in at the Norfolk, Virginia, campus and community last week might have glimpsed these banners hanging from the balcony of a private home. "Rowdy and Fun. Hope your baby girl is ready for a good time," read one of the signs, which was spray-painted on a sheet. "Freshman daughter drop off," and "Go ahead and drop off mom too," were messages displayed on two other sheets, CNN affiliate WTKR reported. Members of the Sigma...

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A Maryland congressman says his nephew was killed in a random shooting near Old Dominion University in Virginia. Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore in a statement Sunday talked about the death of Christopher Cummings in his off-campus apartment. He says his nephew's roommate, Jake Carey, was critically wounded in the attack Friday. Both were students at the university in Norfolk. The congressman urged the community to cooperate with police. He says his family remains in shock over the "senseless tragedy."

Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim has challengers, but it remains to be seen if any of them are a threat to his office. The least likely challenger is 20-year-old ODU junior Ryan Cooper, who plans on running in the May 4 mayoral election. AltDaily spoke via email to the ambitious young man about his chances of winning, how he plans on fighting crime, and how being a door-to-door salesman prepared him to be the next mayor of Norfolk. AltDaily: Let’s start with the blunt, obvious question: You’re a 20-year-old ODU student taking on an incumbent of some 16 years. Do you...

Richmond, VA) -- Governor-elect Bob McDonnell wants Virginia to become the first state on the Atlantic seaboard to explore and drill for oil. The Republican has sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, asking that Virginia be allowed to move ahead on offshore energy exploration. McDonnell cites an Old Dominion University study that concluded natural gas production would create hundreds of jobs and generate millions of dollars for the state. It's believed at least 500-million barrels of oil could lie off the coast of Virginia.

President Barack Obama’s Oct. 27 appearance on behalf of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds will be at Old Dominion University, his campaign said today. The president will appear a week before Election Day at ODU’s Ted Constant Center. Obama will try to reignite the voters who helped him become the first Democratic presidential candidate in 44 years to carry Virginia. Deeds, meantime, has released a new television ad in which Obama encourages Virginia Democrats to help elect the state senator as governor. The development came as Public Policy Polling released a survey that shows Republicans leading by double-digits in all...

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) _ Michelle Obama took a break recently from the campaign trail to get her hands messy breading shrimp as she helped prepare a deep-fried dinner with the Food Network's first lady of Southern cooking, Paula Deen. The wife of Democrat Barack Obama got cozy with Deen in the kitchen during a recent taping of the Savannah celebrity cook's TV show "Paula's Party," scheduled to air on the cable network Sept. 20. Michelle Obama and Deen swapped stories about their families' favorite meals as they cooked fried shrimp and french fries at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.,...

Facts are stubborn things - except when you create your own. When I was asked about the "Jenin Massacre" by a Muslim student during an event at Norfolk's Old Dominion this week, it became clear we were coming from two very different perspectives: reality vs. mythology. There was no "Jenin Massacre." Period. The only "massacre" that took place at Jenin was that of the truth. Palestinians, long masters of media manipulation, went by the hundreds to foreign media - whom Israel kept outside of the armed conflict - to claim that over 500 innocents had been slaughtered. The man at...

Work on Old Dominion University’s stalled experimental maglev train should soon be back on track now that lawsuits against its builder and the university have been settled and a $2 million federal grant needed to fix technical problems has been approved. Scientists and engineers will resume the task of trying to fix vibrations that have plagued the controversial magnetic levitation project, which has cost $14 million in public and private money and was to have begun ferrying students across campus in September 2002. The bullet-nosed vehicle sits idle, perched atop an elevated guideway, because money to fix the glitches ran...

  'Run for Freedom' at Old Dominion University Honors War Dead By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 7, 2004 — Navy and Army ROTC members, as well as students, faculty and staff at Old Dominion University and the local community are lapping the school's perimeter in Norfolk, Va., during a six-day "Run for Freedom" to honor every U.S. service member killed during the war on terror. Organized by Jason Redman, a Navy SEAL attending the university through the Navy's Seaman to Admiral Program, the event is a fundraiser to benefit families of fallen service members. Proceeds will...

NORFOLK — The Tidewater Libertarian Party reached an agreement with Old Dominion University over the distribution of political fliers, ending a lawsuit that sprung from the party’s anti-referendum campaign last fall. A federal judge had dismissed the lawsuit on a technicality, but under threat of appeal, the university agreed to change its policy, officials said. Even now, Libertarian Party member Brian Babb, who brought the suit, said he remains displeased with the school’s policy. While the school removed a restriction on the “distribution of printed materials,” Babb said he read the new policy as requiring permission before attempting to hand...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. EDGEWATER --The federal government has come through with $2 million needed to finish construction of a magnetically levitating train project at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. Congress approved the funding as part of the federal transportation budget on Feb. 13 and President Bush made it official last week when he signed the federal budget. The money will allow American Maglev Technology to complete its high-speed train, which was constructed in Edgewater. The $16 million project has been on hold since November until funds were made available to complete construction of...