Tech elbows its way toward the top
COLLEGIATETIMES THURSDAY
www.collegiatetimes.com
February 15, 2007
Awful Arthur’s coming to Kent Square With the commencement of construction, Awful Arthur’s plans to add to the downtown Blacksburg businesses with their raw bar and tropical atmosphere. MICHELLE RIVERA CT Staff Writer
After taking it to Carolin’a chin, the Hokies are one of five teams on the rise in the NCAA Sports pg. 6 >
Proud servers of DX
Awful Arthur’s will descend upon downtown Blacksburg late this April and bring with it a casual, beachlike atmosphere and a fresh selection of seafood to go along with their coastal theme. Construction has already begun and is moving smoothly. Walking downtown, the sign with the words “Something Awful This Way Comes” halts pedestrians for a moment. The Kent Square location in downtown Blacksburg was just what Mike Soriano, managing partner of Awful Arthur’s in Blacksburg, was looking for. With two floors Soriano wants to cater to families, young professionals and college students. The restaurant will feature a bar, a dining area, outdoor dining and a few pool tables. In close proximity to
where the new restaurant will be is Big Al’s Sports Bar and below that, Poor Billy’s Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar, both owned by Shirl and Al Edwards. “We’re not trying to take over,” Soriano said. “I think we’ll compliment the seafood restaurants already here. It’ll be a good mix.” With the restaurant opening, there could be room for competition, but downtown managers are not worried. “I think that there’s plenty of business in town for everybody,” said Andrea Weddle, manager of Big Al’s. Each restaurant downtown has its own style and special features that are unique. “Poor Billy’s is generally geared more toward being a higher quality restaurant, but it still has a relaxed atmosphere,” said Steve Watkins, head chef at Poor Billy’s. “I think the homemade feel to the restaurant
sets us apart from other restaurants. We run at least two or three specials a night and make everything from scratch.” Because Big Al’s and Poor Billy’s are both locally owned, the chefs have the freedom to change their menus and create new specials every night. “Our chefs are excellent with coming up with daily specials,” Weddle said. “They always have new ideas.” Awful Arthur’s differs from the other restaurants because of its size. “The great thing about us will be our size. The restaurant will be over 12,000 sq. ft. and will seat about 270 people,” Soriano said. “It will be the kind of place where you can go and won’t be elbow to elbow. It’ll be a lot more open, more free-flowing, and you won’t have to yell at someone two feet away from you.”
Local diners can get a dose of seafood from Poor Billy’s (above) and in the near future from Awful Arthur’s (below), still under construction.
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Blue Ridge Parkway proposes funding for 2008 Behind the scenes at your favorite-late night eatery Features pg. 3 >
News Notes Tech baseball team starts season with high hopes today Virginia Tech’s baseball team hopes to once again start the season today against the UNC-Charlotte 49ers. The season-opener against UNC-Charlotte was scheduled for Tuesday, but the game has been postponed due to inclement weather. Today’s forecast is promising for the Hokies, with partly-cloudy conditions just north of Charlotte. The game is set for 2 p.m. at the home of the Chicago White Sox Class A affiliate Kannapolis Intimidators. Tech’s first home game is set for Feb. 21 against the Albany Great Danes.
Bush, House GOP Leaders Concede Defeat on Iraq War Resolution WASHINGTON--With Republicans speaking out Wednesday against President Bush’s war policy on the House floor, GOP leaders and the White House conceded defeat on a resolution opposing sending additional U.S. troops to Iraq and began looking toward the coming battle over the war’s funding. On the second day of a four-day showdown over the nonbinding resolution, Democrats looked on as Republican dissidents denounced what they called Bush’s ill-conceived plan to put 21,500 more combat troops in the middle of a sectarian civil war. Even the president conceded Wednesday that the House will deliver a bipartisan rebuke Thursday, when it votes on a resolution opposing the deployment of additional troops to Iraq, while affirming Congress’s support for “the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq.” But, he warned, Congress must not meddle with the funds needed to support those troops. Republicans think the funding debate will unite their party and expose deep fissures among the Democrats, some of whom want immediate action to deny funding to the war effort. But Democratic leaders have rallied around a strategy that would fully fund the president’s $100 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but would limit his ability to use the money. -The Washington Post
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An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 104th Year, No. 76 Blacksburg, Va. February 15, 2007
MEG MILLER CT News Reporter Despite being a frequently visited National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway has remained under-funded by the government in past years, leaving them backlogged $200 million, due mostly to highway maintenance. Lately however, things are looking up for the parkway. President Bush’s 2008 budget proposal includes $1.5 million to go to the Blue Ridge Parkway and a promise that the federal government will match, dollar to dollar, every private fund given to the parkway until its centennial celebration in 2016. Phil Francis, superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway, said that if the proposal is passed through Congress, the money will be used to hire 47 seasonal employees for maintenance work, range interpreters, people to work in the law enforcement division, and a volunteer coordinator. “(The volunteer coordinator) is really great news,” Francis said, “we will be able to work with Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway and line up the materials needed.” Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway is a non-profit, volunteer organization that is dedicated to preserving and protecting the parkway. Members of the organization currently have a petition for the president of the United States to receive operational funds for the Parkway. “None of (the proposed budget) goes to the operational funds,” said Susan J. Mills, executive director of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. “We will have to advocate that much more for the funds that (the Blue Ridge Parkway) are not receiving.” Currently, 57 permanent jobs are unfilled and last year 600 volunteers put in more than 60 thousand hours into the parkway, equating the hours of 30 permanent employees
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The Blue Ridge Parkway, often visted by Tech students, seeks funding to increase its staff and tourism. in a year. Francis said that right now, the Blue Ridge Parkway does not have the funds to fill the staff. However, the Centennial Challenge should bring in more money every year that it is in effect. “This is a 10 year program,” Francis said, “Hopefully in the coming years this money will help with permanent personnel.” Francis added that the proposal is the largest increase in the history of the service, and that national parks certainly seem to be a priority in this year’s National Budget. Although equally as enthusiastic as Francis about keeping the parkway clean and beautiful, the executive director of the Blue Ridge Parkway Association,
Thomas Hardy, is still skeptical that the proposed budget will be enough. Hardy agrees that the parkway is millions of dollars behind on maintenance and thinks it is in a more dire state than most National Parks. He also cites a reason for this that he feels has not been as reported on. “Illegal aliens streaming across the border are really tearing them up,” Hardy said. “So that will probably cause less dollars to be spent on already existing parks.” The parkway and its volunteers will have to wait a little while to see any solutions. The proposal, if approved by Congress, will not be effective until next school year, which begins in October 2007.
Tech school of education honored BRITTNEY R. DAVIS CT News Reporter Virginia Tech’s School of Education has been honored as one of the 20 research institutions nationwide to participate in a program called The Carnegie Initiative, which falls under the umbrella of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, located in Stanford, Calif. The purpose of the initiative is to transform the Doctorate of Education, or Ed.D., degree to better prepare graduates for research and employment in the field. The foundation wishes to advance the program by conducting a conceptual analysis of doctoral education, design experiments in departments, and research and dissemination. Through these methods, the foundation hopes to better prepare students to handle real-world problems and expectations of teaching and learning, as well as to assess and address the needs of students. In order to do so, the foundation sent a request to research institutions nationwide for proposals in solving the issues associated with education as well as improving upon the doctoral program. Of the many that were submitted, the School of Education was among only 20 that received the foundation’s acceptance letter, signifying admission into the research project. “It is such an honor to be included because the initiative is headed by some of the most prestigious educators in the country,” said associate professor and contributor to Tech’s proposal, Rosary Lalik. “The purpose of the program is to make the degree more powerful so that professionals will be prepared to handle real-world situations and the many impractical problems of education such as the achievement gap. It’s a very important problem and one that must be addressed. It will make the degree stronger so that people will want it and know they will need it in order to make a difference.” School of Education director Susan Magliaro is honored to be apart of the project and knows that the benefits of participation will be plentiful. “We were really excited to be chosen,” Magliaro said. “By participating, we can collaborate and share programs with the other institutions to create a more vibrant and strong doctoral program. And through this, our school will afford national visibility as well as the opportunity to advance our own doctoral programs.” In order to assess the needs of educators and students at and around Virginia Tech’s many campuses, the school will create an advisory board of administrators, teachers, counselors and special educators. This board will report the problems they are facing and would like to be addressed in the new program at meetings conducted by those who will head the research project. “We will have meetings with the advisory board so that we will be able to gain information from a lot of different people with a lot of different perspectives,” Lalik said. “We will discuss the needs of our school partners together in order to address them. The initiative is a high-impact outreach program and we want to involve as many as we can in the process.” All of the campuses of Virginia Tech, such as ones located in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, will create a team of researchers and report to the heads of the project regarding what each campus and its surrounding area feels the doctorate program should address, the expectations of educators and students as well as their needs, stated. This way, the program will be far-reaching and as effective as possible. The first national meeting for the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate will be held on Feb. 23 in New York City.
House of Delegates moves foward with slavery resolution The Virginia House of Delegates voted to change the bill which may be passed by the State Senate later this week. KEVIN ANDERSON CT Associate News Editor Following several weeks of controversy and debate over atonement for Virginia’s role in slavery, the Virginia House of Delegates has finally come to a resolution that appeases the House with a 97-0 vote. Rather than using the word “atone,” the House has changed the wording of the bill to “profound regret.” This avoids the direct apology, which has been met with
various statements of dissent. “The new language is more inclusive and it expresses remorse to the Native Americans as well as the African Americans,” said Del. John O’Bannon (R-Henrico Co.). “It’s a better way to go.” The changing of the word also makes the bill relate more to the heritage and celebration of Jamestown’s 400-year anniversary. This new resolution comes after weeks of debate when Del. Frank Hargrove
(R-Hanover Co.), made remarks that African Americans need to “get over” slavery in an interview with the Charlottesville Daily. “Slavery is 145 years in the past and this is not productive,” Hargrove said. “I agree with (the new wording).” Following the comments made, Hargrove suggested a June 19 resolution to celebrate the end of slavery rather than apologizing. This attempt at resolving the issue, which was suggested by a minister from Mississippi, is supposed to celebrate the day slaves were freed from the southwest region of the United States. “I pointed out that Americans should
celebrate the end of slavery,” Hargrove said. With all of the attention going on in Virginia, Missouri has invested interest in apologizing for slavery, and is considering doing the same as Virginia. “Hopefully they will catch on,” said Del. Donald McEachin, (D-Henrico Co.). The rewording of the atonement will be presented to the State Senate later this week. Even so, delegates in the House are looking forward with a positive mind. “We are hoping that things will work out so that we can move on to transportation and education,” O’Bannon said.