COLLEGIATETIMES
tuesday august 26, 2008 blacksburg, va.
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Notes from the BOV
sports BEAMER TO MAKE QB PROCLAMATION Frank Beamer will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. today to discuss Tech’s starting quarterback situation. Check our website for the latest football news.
MEN’S SOCCER PREVIEW
The Board of Visitors met yesterday in its first meeting of the academic year. Here are notes from the meeting.
Men’s soccer season prepares to kick off. See the CT preview for the starting lineup. page eight
This fall semester the university welcomes 5,100 freshmen to campus, the largest incoming class in the university’s history, from an applicant pool of 16,500 applications processed. 1,016 transfer students were also added to Tech’s enrollment.
CT PODCASTS
Last week, the 2007 National Science Foundation research funding ranks showed Virginia Tech rising in its national standing from 54 to 42.
Tune in to the CT sports’ weekly podcasts at www.collegiatetimes.com
features GETTING SOME PERSPECTIVE Introduce yourself to Squires Student Center’s Perspective Gallery. page four
CLASS ACT: PART TWO
COURTESY OF VTC
The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, pictured above in an architectural rendering, had its funding largely approved at a Board of Visitors’ meeting yesterday. The building will be approximately 150,000 square feet in size and cost $59 million.
Building plan for new medical school reviewed LAURA DUKE
Changing from dorms to apartments, sophomores face several challenges including learning to cook. Get tips for how to make the transition easier in the second of the “Class Act” series. page six
Visit the CT online to vote for 2008 Best of Blacksburg and enter to win an 8GB iPod Touch
corrections In the brief “Newcomers to board of visitors,” contained an error. Calvin Johnson is from Richardson, Texas. The CT regrets this error. In the article “Overcrowding sends students ‘shuttling around,’ freshmen in a temporary housing situation are not given a $120 refund on their meal plans. Housing and dining services provides a prorated refund based on time in temporary housing for studnets after October 20. It is not a fixed amount, and not everyone will receive it. The CT regrets this error. If you see something in today’s paper that needs to be corrected, please e-mail our public editor at publiceditor@collegiatetimes.com, or call 540.231.9865.
weather SCATTERED T-STORMS high 73, low 59
ct news staff writer Design plans for the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute were reviewed and largely approved at Monday’s Board of Visitors’ Building and Grounds Committee meeting after months of joint development by multiple agencies. Tech and Carilion Health System have worked together to model the vision and design of the building, hiring architecture firm HSMM AECOM to develop an innovative structure suitable for the dual residency of the medical school and research institute. All parties involved have enjoyed creating and designing an entirely new building with a modern structure, up-to-date amenities and technological advancements. “It’s really fun,” said Dr. Cynda Ann Johnson, recently appointed Dean of the
RILEY PRENDERGAST
ct news reporter Riding the wave of movein madness at Virginia Tech, returning students may have taken notice of a number of construction sites throughout campus. In second part of this four-part series, the Collegiate Times will provide an update on the coming changes to oncampus parking. A new structure soon breaking ground at Tech is a parking deck, which will be located in the Perry Street commuter lot. This $25 million structure will
hold 1,200 spaces, but during its construction will force 700 commuter spots to the new Chicken Hill lot located behind Lane Stadium. While the parking deck’s construction is set to begin in Dec. 2008 and last through summer 2010, parking permits prices for members of the Tech community are already taking their toll. Funding for this university endeavor comes from the parking permits purchased by Virginia Tech students, faculty and staff. “To meet the demand for campus parking, permits will increase $20 to $30 a year over
A proposal by university presidents to begin a dialogue on lowering the drinking age to 18. Check out for video presentation on impending intramural sports season.
index News.....................2 Features................4 0pinions................5
Classifieds..............7 Sports....................8 Sudoku..................7
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year issue 2
see MEDICAL SCHOOL, page two
the next four years,” said Mark Owczarski, director of news and information, in a June 23 press release. Hillary West, the communication coordinator for transportation and campus services said that the parking structure is, “being built in preparation for campus growth over the next 10 to 20 years.” This particular parking deck will not function like a public parking garage as there will be no hourly or daily fees and patrons will only be required to display their visitor, commuter or faculty/staff parking passes. The need for a parking deck of
this magnitude is because some expected campus growth in the coming years will be into spaces that are currently parking lots, West said. This structure, according to the University Master Plan, a name for Tech’s expansion plans over the next several years, will be the first, but not the last, of the parking garages expected to be built on campus. Over the next 10 years, Tech plans to have three parking structures spread throughout campus, all of which were approved by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors at a June 23 meeting.
$2.3 million will be spent on the construction of an indoor batting practice facility for Virginia Tech baseball and softball teams. The College of Science’s Consortia Program and Food, Nutrition, and Health Vivarium project have exceeded their combined budgeted funds. Original authorization was for $18.6 million on the two projects. However, the adjusted total project cost is $20.5 million. President Steger announced that the Virginia Tech Capital Campaign has raised $690 million in donations. This is an increase of nearly $110 million since the Campaign went into its public phase last October. — compiled by Rafael Panlilio
Warner preps for keynote address CANDACE SIPOS
ct politics editor Former Virginia Governor and Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Mark Warner will be the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Denver tomorrow night. Warner said he would highlight the Commonwealth as his speech will focus on bipartisan solutions to the nation’s problems. “(The speech is) a real chance I think for Virginia to shine,” Warner said. “To talk about how we could actually get Democrats and Republicans to work a together on issues, how we didn’t leave behind particularly parts south side and southwest Warner of Virginia that I think could be a model for the rest of the country.” In a teleconference call yesterday, Warner said that he has been working on his address since he was asked to speak on Aug. 13. Sen. Barack Obama (D - Ill.) once expressed interest in wooing the former Virginia governor for a spot on his presidential ticket, reflecting a desire to win Virginia which has voted Republican since 1964. Warner emphasized that his speech and this election do not “fall so much along the normal red/blue, left/right” lines. “I hope I can at least, from my perspective, say what’s at stake,” Warner said. The former governor also stated his satisfaction
see WARNER, page two
Campaign offices open in downtown Blacksburg ct politics editor
TOMORROW’S CT
ture-wise that you’re probably not going to have in the medical school,” said Eric Earnhart, spokesman for Carilion. In that same vein, designs for each institution required both similar and unique focuses. Carilion officials and VTC administrators worked with HSMM to create a layout for the medical school that best fits its predicted needs. The first of three floors will include a lecture hall and medical library, as well as administrative, dining, and student services. The second will include another large lecture hall and other student-focused rooms, such as study lounges. The third story will be the primary instructional area, with mock exam rooms, team rooms, and anatomy labs. The research institute was developed in part by hiring Jacobs Consultancy, a premiere lab design firm that has designed at least 40 different biomedical research labs.
Construction: Parking decks in store for three campus locations
CANDACE SIPOS
coming up
VTC School of Medicine. “It’s been great to not have to take an already existing building and make it work.” Plans presented at the meeting showed the location of the building, which will be just south of downtown Roanoke, across the street from the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The campus will be a part of the new Riverside Center, a development that consists of a new medical office building, a parking garage, and a Carilion clinic currently under construction. The VTC building itself will be approximately 150,000 square feet in size, with twothirds of that space used for the research institute and one-third for the medical school. The exterior of the building will be predominantly brick, with a three-story glass atrium connecting the two institutions. “One reason for separating the two is that the research institute is going to have some requirements structurally and infrastruc-
It was anticipated that the construction of New Residence Hall One would cost $22 million to complete. However, because of several issues in building construction, the project will cost $8 million more than was estimated.
National politics are heating up in Blacksburg. July 19 saw the Obama Campaign for Change office in Blacksburg taking up residence in Kent Square. The Republican headquarters office for Montgomery County opened beside The Cellar restaurant last Saturday. The Montgomery County Republican Party opens a similar office every year, but this marks the first year in recent history that the office has been located in Blacksburg. Patty Manthe, Chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party, said the committee determined that their new location on 302 A N. Main St. would benefit from a lot of foot traffic. Also, the close proximity to campus makes it a convenient point for the College Republicans at Virginia Tech to visit during the academic year. Last fall, the office was located
in Christiansburg. Manthe said every county or city decides whether to set up an office for the yearly campaign. “We’re fortunate we’ve had the support to do one every year,” Manthe said. “It’s a huge undertaking.” The office is completely paid for by donated funds and all workers are volunteers. The county receives no payment from the party to open an office. In order to afford the expenses of opening the office, the Montgomery County Republican Party puts on a huge fundraiser every year. Last Friday night, the party held its 10th annual Obenshain-Dalton Dinner at the Inn at Virginia Tech. The event was headlined by Virginia Senatorial candidate and former governor Jim Gilmore and Attorney General Bob McDonnell. The move-in ran smoothly, except for a mysterious box that was found Aug.
see CAMPAIGN, page two
KELLY HARRIGAN/SPPS
Left photo: Emily Eyestone, a junior at Blacksburg High School, polls New River Valley residents. Right photo: Carlin Crowder, Chairman of Virginia Tech’s College Republicans, speaks with local residents.
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