COLLEGIATETIMES
wednesday february 13, 2008 blacksburg, va.
www.collegiatetimes.com
pop quiz DID HILLARY CLINTON HAVE A ‘SUPER’ SWEEP? 1. Which of these states did Hillary Clinton win on Super Tuesday? A. California B. Georgia C. Virginia D. All of the above 2. The federal government halted treatment of what disease after a surprising number of deaths? A. High blood pressure B. Breast cancer C. AIDS D. Diabetes 3.The Chinese year that began on Thursday is the year of what? A. Pig B. Snake C. Rat D. Horse 4. Who took the most prizes at the 50th Grammy Awards? A. Amy Winehouse B. Kanye West C. Bruce Springsteen D. 50 Cent 5. What Republican presidential candidate suspended his campaign last week? A. Mike Huckabee B. John McCain C. Mitt Romney D. Ron Paul — St. Louis Post-Dispatch
JEFFREY M. BOAN/EL NUEVO HERALD
Republican presidential hopeful John McCain reacts after winning the Florida primary on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008, in Miami, Fla.
HOW MONTGOMERY COUNTY VOTED: OBAMA: 55 percent
CLINTON:
57 percent
MCCAIN:
44 percent
EDWARDS:
35 percent
PAUL: 4 percent
ALL NUMBERS ARE FROM THE WASHINGTON POST
1. A. Clinton won California; Barack Obama won Georgia; and Virginia’s primary is Feb. 12. 2. D. The government halted its study of diabetes and heart disease after 257 deaths. 3. C. The new year is the year of the Rat. 4. A. She took five of the six awards for which she was nominated. 5. C. Romney had lost a series of primaries to McCain, including Florida and California.
weather SNOW AND SLEET high 40, low 20
corrections “Research symposium allows students, faculty to collaborate,” (CT, Feb. 12) was written by Lauren Morrison. The first sentence of the story should read, “The Inn at Virginia Tech hosted the third (biennial) College of Architecture and Urban Studies Faculty Research Symposium on Monday and Tuesday.” The Collegiate Times regrets these errors.
coming up TOMORROW’S CT Looking for a last minute Valentine’s Day menu for your valentine? We’ve got you covered in tomorrow’s CT. Check out a video of the ‘flash mob’ that hit Hokie Grill on Monday on our Web site.
index Sports....................6 Classifieds..............7 Sudoku..................7
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year • issue 18
HOW VIRGINIA VOTED:
HUCKABEE:
1 percent
ANSWERS
News.....................2 Features................3 0pinions................5
McCain, Obama prevail in ‘Potomac Primary’
JOE JASZEWSKI/IDAHO STATESMAN
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama waves to the crowd after he addressed a packed crowd Boise State campus in Boise, Idaho, Feb. 2, 2008.
OBAMA: 64 percent CLINTON: 35 percent OTHER: 1 percent
I
n yesterday’s primary elections, Barack Obama and John McCain swept the sodubbed “Potomac Primary” both earning key victories in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. In Virginia, Obama won with 63 percent of the vote; in Maryland with 67 percent; and in District of Columbia with 75 percent. The victories give the senator from Illinois a slight lead over his primary competition, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). On the Republican side, Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.)
MCCAIN: 50 percent HUCKABEE: 41 percent OTHER: 9 percent
won in Virginia with 50 percent of the vote; in Maryland with 55 percent; and in the District of Columbia with 67 percent. McCain’s victories all but eliminate competitor Mike Huckabee, who saw a surge during last week’s “Super Tuesday” but has struggled since. The next Democratic primaries will be held in Wisconsin and Hawaii on Feb. 19. The GOP will hold primaries in Wisconsin and Washington on the same day. — Kevin Anderson, CT NRV editor
‘Invent the Future’ campaign grows AFTER KICKING OFF THE PUBLIC PHASE OF ITS FUNDRAISING PROJECT, TECH REACHES 63 PERCENT OF ITS $1 BILLION GOAL KERRY O’CONNOR
ct news reporter Last October, Virginia Tech launched the public phase of the Campaign for Virginia Tech: Invent the Future. The campaign followed three years of a quiet phase in which 58 percent of the $1 billion goal was reached. Since the announcement of the public phase, the campaign has only become five percent closer to its goal. “Most campaigns follow a quiet phase,” said Michael Kiser, director of development communications. “We had a very successful quiet phase.” As of Dec. 31, 2007, the campaign had raised $633 million. In the last month, the campaign acquired $31.8 million more in donations. While it may seem like a hefty sum, it sets Tech’s campaign well below several other universities that are fundraising. The Campaign for the University of Virginia: Knowledge is Power was at the top of the fundraising list, receiving $180 million in donations last month toward its $3 billion goal. “December is usually a really good month for us,” said Jenny Wyss-Jones, University of Virginia’s campaign director. “We did receive a $100 million donation last spring and have been receiving payments on that pledge. It probably
relates to receiving these, and other payments pledged last year.” The UVa campaign is just past halfway to its goal, currently sitting at $1.6 billion. The campaign is projected to wrap up in December 2011. Like UVa, Tech’s campaign is ahead of schedule. The Campaign for Virginia Tech is projected to finish in 2010. “We are really, really pleased to be at this total,” Kiser said. “When you’ve got other schools campaigning, it’s hard to find an apples-to apples-comparison. I think we are really successful, and other schools have been successful as well.”
“We’ve all watched as, despite our expanding reach and role in the world, state support has continued to dwindle.” - CHARLES STEGER UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT The funds raised will be prioritized into five areas within the university. They are outlined as academic excellence, the undergraduate experience, research facilities, Virginia Tech and the community, and the President’s Discovery Fund. The President’s Discovery Fund will take the money raised for that particular need and put it into what Kiser calls “unrestricted funds.” These funds allow the university to capitalize on opportunities as they arise.
Kiser explained that although Tech is a public university and receives support from the state, funding often falls short of the university’s needs. Many public universities rely on private philanthropy to help them progress. “We’ve all watched as, despite our expanding reach and role in the world, state support has continued to dwindle,” said Tech President Charles Steger in his campaign message. “Indeed, we receive less in state funding today than we did six years ago.” Lu Merritt, the director of development for Intercollegiate Athletics, said the Athletics Department relies on private funds and campaigns because the department receives no state funding. Currently they are relying on the campaign to raise money for the $7 million annual scholarship bill, unrestricted current operations, and new facilities such as the basketball practice court and a new field house. “Some people have talked about athletics being the front porch of the university,” Merritt said. “When you have 60,000 people coming to campus for a football game, and 10,000 people coming for a basketball game, and the men’s soccer team being on ESPN, we get a lot of publicity.” The campaign continues to communicate with its donor base, its constituency, and its alumni. The Campaign for Virginia Tech: Invent the future has roughly $367 million left to raise before it reaches its goal. “We do recognize there’s still a long way to go,” Kiser said.
Clay Corner Inn to reopen ASHLEY OLIVER
ct associate news editor The Clay Corner Inn is re-opening on Feb. 22 after a four-year break in service. Before its closing, the Inn had been serving visitors to Virginia Tech since 1994. “It was originally opened in 1991 by the late Vic and Jo Pat Huggins; he was a well-known art professor at Virginia Tech,” said proprietor Joanne Anderson. “They moved away after they sold it to me, as per diem, a bed and breakfast.” Anderson changed the name to Clay Corner in 1996. The Inn’s business was halted after Anderson closed it to take care of her parents. However, she has high hopes for the reopening, as it has been a goal of hers to own an inn ever since watching the Newhart Show. “I modeled my life after the Newhart Show,” Anderson said. “Bob Newhart had an inn in Vermont and he was a travel-writer.” Anderson, who is also editor of the New River Valley Magazine, said that before the Inn closed
in 2004, the business was successful. She hopes this remains true after the reopening on Feb. 22. The Inn will have eight guest rooms (or tworoom suites), with regional themes such as American, Blue Ridge, Appalachian, Virginia, Huckleberry, Blacksburg, New River and Hokie. Anderson, who designed the interior on her own, said the location is convenient and ideal for the Inn’s success. “Within one block you’re on the Virginia Tech campus, within one block in another direction you’re in downtown,” Anderson said. “And one block in the other direction you’re on the Huckleberry Trail.” Another feature of the Inn is its breakfast, which is served from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. “I’m the only bed and breakfast in town,” Anderson said. “Women travelers really gravitate to the security and comfort of a bed and
see INN, page two
YOUNG VOTER TURNOUT INCREASES IN PRIMARIES CANDACE SIPOS
ct news reporter In 2000, 40 percent of 18- to 29-yearolds voted in the presidential election, and in 2004 the figure had jumped to 49 percent. The numbers are not only increasing for the general elections, but also for the primaries, and many project that young voters will be a major stakeholder in this election’s results. Last Tuesday, in more than 20 state primaries across America, youth voter turnout doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled from their 2000 and 2004 totals. “I think there’s definitely a high level of enthusiasm and interest,” said Chris Cox, president of Students for Barack Obama at Virginia Tech. Cox said that members of the club had been at information booths registering students to vote all last semester and so far this semester. Last Monday, they registered over 140 absentee applications.
JOSHUA MILLER/SPPS
The Students for Barack Obama at Virginia Tech held a rally Feb. 2. The club members also traveled twice to South Carolina two weeks before the Jan. 26 primary in that state, where Cox said students contributed largely to Obama’s victory in more rural counties. The Libertarians at Virginia Tech were also involved in aiding students in the primary voting process. They’ve held two political outreach events, both under an activity they call Operation Politically Homeless, through which they’ve reminded students when to vote. They have also manned a table in front of Newman Library where they handed out literature and performed political surveys. “Unfortunately, I think that the majority of the students, at least that I’ve talked to anyway, especially the ones that aren’t somehow involved in some political group or aren’t as politically active, didn’t understand or didn’t realize the absentee ballot procedures,” said Christine Malady, president of the Libertarians at Virginia Tech. “Most of them didn’t understand the different procedures and deadlines and missed the deadline in order to vote.” Some students, such as sophomore communication major Kelley Salamone and sophomore biology major Bryan Smyth, said they did not vote in the primaries, but will in the general election. “I know that people have been really excited, but they’re still kind of confused about the process,” Cox said. “A lot of people missed the opportunity.” Other students, such as sophomore interdisciplinary studies major Theresa
MATT BOONE/SPPS
The Clay Corner Inn will reopen on Feb. 22.
have a news tip? want to see something in the CT? e-mail tips@collegiatetimes.com
see VOTERS, page two