PVCC Students Make the Evening News

The Nelsonite petition project, initiated by Professor Lawrence Tiezzi, is gaining momentum. Three of the students petitioning for the Nelsonite to become Virginia’s official state rock met with a reporter from Newsplex Channel 19 on Thursday, Oct. 29, Michelle Stanislause, Owen Krug and Teshawna Quarles.

“The reporter heard about us from someone in the community and contacted the college to do a story,” Stanislause wrote in an email.

“The guy that was here for the Heritage or Hate speech, he signed our petition and … he was interested by it,” Quarles said.

Many of PVCCs staff and students have already supported the Nelsonite petition with their signatures. According to Quarles, the number of signatures is “in the ballpark of 400.” There has not been an official count yet, but Stanislause said that the group intends to collect more signatures.

As the petitioning process continues, the group has moved on to the legal aspects of getting the Nelsonite to be recognized as Virginia’s state rock. Stanislause mentioned that their group has an appointment with a senator of Nelson County to ask him to sponsor their bill.

They will have more details after Nov. 11. According to Quales, the group cannot disclose the name of the senator until the process is further along.