COLLEGIATETIMES
friday october 17, 2008 blacksburg, va.
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news 5K IN HONOR OF BRAIN TUMOR VICTIM The second annual 5K run, created in honor of a JMU graduate who passed away after an eight-year battle with a brain tumor, will take place tomorrow at 11 a.m. on the Virginia Tech cross country course. The 5K, coined Joggin for the Noggin, aims to raise $10,000 for brain tumor research as a tribute to Kristin Corrigan, who was diagnosed with the tumor three months after graduation. Proceeds from the event will benefit the National Brain Tumor Foundation. For more information on details and registration, visit www.jogginforthenoggin.net
Pushing Obama, Webb spears Palin CANDACE SIPOS
ct politics editor Virginia Sen. Jim Webb addressed an audience of students, faculty, and avid Democrats yesterday in Torgersen 1100 on Virginia Tech’s campus. He had only positive remarks to attribute to presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, and he showed his strong disapproval of Sen. John McCain’s campaign — and .Gov. Sarah Palin. “I don’t know of a vice presidential nominee in my lifetime who is less qualified to be President of the United
story at right. Pick up Tuesday’s edition for our special section highlighting the rest of the winners.
survey THE CT WANTS TO KNOW: WHO ARE THE GREATEST? Go to collegiatetimes.com to vote on the top 10 players in Tech football history starting today. Rank the top 10 and find out the final list on Election Day, Nov. 4.
the candidates’ running mate choices reflects on them. “It’s not just a question of that person’s capabilities and confidence,” Webb said. “It’s also a question of judgment. It’s a question that defines the individual who makes the decision. It gives you a window into how that individual is going to govern.” Webb also touched on the shortcomings of President Bush’s administration, in his opinion. The War in Iraq was a hot topic in his dialogue regarding the current president. America has “the finest maneuver
see WEBB, page three
LYDIA MICHAILOW/SPPS
Senator Jim Webb speaks in Torgersen 1100 yesterday. Webb spoke about his 2006 campaign as well as critiqued Gov. Sarah Palin.
Obama to visit Roanoke today
Delving into local kitchens
BEST OF BLACKSBURG SURVEY RESULTS We’ve revealed three Best of Blacksburg winners in our ‘Delving into local kitchens’
States than Governor Palin,” Webb said. “That’s not simply a comment on her background. It’s a comment on the thought process that went into her selection. I have a hard time convincing myself that McCain was putting his country first.” He noted his strong approval of Obama’s choice of running mate, Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.). “He picked a vice president that I don’t think anyone can question,” Webb said. We know who Joe Biden is. We know what we can expect out of him.” Webb put much emphasis on how
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will hold a “Change We Need Rally” in Roanoke today at The Coliseum at Roanoke Civic Center. Obama will be joined by Virginia Sen. Jim Webb in the rally set to begin at 12:30 p.m. Doors will open at 10 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. Obama plans to discuss his ideas for creating middle-class tax cuts, tackling the unemployment rate with job creation and ending tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas. Obama is also expected to speak on his plan to bring a responsible end to the Iraq war. The event is first-come, first-serve, and thus those wishing to attend should RSVP at www.va.barackobama.com and arrive at the Civic Center early. Entry to the rally will be on the Orange Avenue side of the Civic Center at gates nine through 11. Handicapped access is available at gate two. The parking gates will open at 7 a.m. and two shuttle services will be available from the New Carilion Garage located at Reserve Avenue and Jefferson Avenue, as well as the Community Hospital Garage located at Elm Avenue and Williamson Road. The shuttle will begin operation at 8:30 a.m. All parking areas will be enforced, though according to the Roanoke Campaign for Change Center, the following garages may have space available: Campbell Avenue, Gainsboro Church and the Wachovia Tower. —by Caleb Fleming
SOME OF BLACKSBURG’S TASTIEST RESTAURANTS DON’T HAVE THE CLEANEST BILLS OF BEHIND-THE-SCENES HEALTH. —by T. Rees Shapiro or the safest meal in town, you
“That’s quite impressive,” said Gary
might as well go to jail. The
Coggins, senior environmental health
Montgomery County jail is one
manager for Montgomery County. Very
of the safest dining facilities in the
impressive considering average dining
region, with a health inspection record
establishments accrue critical violations
better than practically every other res-
at a much higher rate.
F
taurant in the New River Valley.
This past August alone, Cabo Fish
Since 2003, the jail has only received three “critical” violations during its
Taco, Best of Blacksburg’s top-picked restaurant, received two critical violasee VIOLATIONS, page three
yearly routine health inspections.
BEST OF BLACKSBURG BEST RESTAURANT: Cabo Fish Taco BEST MEXICAN: El Rodeo BEST WINGS: Buffalo Wild Wings We’ve taken a look into the health records of the restaurants you selected as winners in our 2008 Best in Blacksburg competition. See Tuesday’s edition for a full list of winners.
April 16 families to meet Tech officials
weather SUNSHINE high 62, low 39
corrections The photo associated with “Longwood women fall short against stellar Tech attack,” (CT, Oct. 16), was taken by Sally Bull, not Mike Shroyer. The Collegiate Times regrets this error.
coming up TUESDAY’S CT Look in Tuesday’s paper for commentary on Tech’s football game against Boston College.
ZACH CRIZER ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN KAYROUZ
As building begins, medical school scales up curriculum plans GABE MCVEY
If you missed Senator Webb on campus yesterday, see the highlights of his remarks online. Want to see more about shredding punter Brent Bowden? Check out our Web site.
index News.....................2 Features................6 0pinions................4
Classifieds............12 Sports....................9 Sudoku................12
An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year issue 94
ct news reporter While crews of construction workers have begun building the physical structure of the new Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, administrators are putting in hours of work into the less visible, though no less onerous task of building the school’s institutional foundation. “We’re what’s called an applicant school right now,” said Dean Cynda Johnson. “We need to get preliminary accreditation before July 1, 2009 or we can’t begin recruiting applicants.” The new medical school is part of Roanoke’s Riverside Corporate Center, a redevelopment project designed to create a business park on South Jefferson Street at Reserve Avenue. It will be a joint venture between Tech and Carilion Clinic, a Roanoke-based not-for-profit health care organization. “We have a great pool of people to draw from both at Carilion and Virginia Tech,” Johnson said. Each entity will own half of the new school, though a legal agreement includes several clauses that allow Carilion to transfer its share of the operation to Tech. On Sept. 17, crews broke ground at the Jefferson Street site, but academic officials have been working on gaining accreditation for the new endeavor since summer. “We initially had the first two years down to
where we were putting names on the design teams in our database, then the requirements changed,” Johnson said. “We only had broad strokes for our third and fourth year curricula. Now we’ve had to be much more detailed,” Johnson said. “We had 1,200 pages before they changed.” The school is designed to focus on medical research, patterned after Harvard Medical School’s Health Sciences and Technology program and the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner College of Medicine. The program will have small class sizes and be dedicated to training physician researchers according to a Carilion press release. “We’re drawing heavily on Carilion’s and Virginia Tech’s pool of experienced staff,” Johnson said. “We have many, many talented people at Carilion who have experience not just in clinical, but science PhD’s as well.” The curriculum initially called for an expanded, five-year term. After bringing in experienced staff, they decided the school could accomplish the same goals in four. “When we really drilled down we realized the group process we’re using allowed students to learn this material faster than was originally thought,” Johnson said. “We streamlined the whole process down to four years.” The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine will host a relatively small class size of 42 students a year compared to the 100-
plus class sizes at many other medical schools, Associate Dean Richard Vari said. “We need to have a small class size to accommodate the needs of our curriculum,” Johnson said. “After the first-year research basics the students will have a three-year longitudinal study using real cases and real patients which will ultimately result in a publishable research paper.” In addition to training students to be clinical doctors, the school’s goal is to train research physicians who wish to make research part of their medical career according to a Tech press release. “Students will choose research mentors after their first year,” Johnson said. “Students will meet in small groups during the week to after the first day when the case is presented to work on the case.” All students will receive training in research methods, conduct original research and write a thesis as a condition of graduation, in addition to the established medical school curriculum. “We have a self-taught, adult learning style with some lecture time, but primarily focused on a team approach,” Johnson said. According to a Tech press release, tuition will be comparable to other private medical schools. Tuition and fees at private medical schools averaged $31,000 in 2002, according to the American Medical Student Association.
ct news reporter Virginia Tech officials will meet with families of April 16 victims this weekend, in an attempt to answer numerous questions about events and decisions made in 2007. President Charles Steger invited families to the campus this weekend with a letter sent on Sept. 15. Families of the wounded will have their question session with university officials on Saturday at 11 a.m., while the families of those killed will have a similar session on Sunday at 2 p.m. Some families of the deceased, especially those who reside out of state, find the schedule inconvenient. Michael Herbstritt, father of Jeremy Herbstritt, who was among those murdered, lives in Bellefonte, Pa. He said the weekend trip is not feasible and will not be attending. “It is extremely difficult. The university seems to think we can come anytime,” Herbstritt said. “University officials have never come to central Pennsylvania.” However, he said there is very little the university can do for the families. “Virginia Tech has tried everything to console us,” Herbstritt said. “It is impossible to console any of the 32 families.” Since the invitations were sent, families have gained access to handwritten notes of Tech officials from April 16, bringing more concerns to the surface. Andrew Goddard, whose son Colin was wounded in Norris Hall, said facts about the university’s response are hard to find. “There are still a lot of unanswered questions about how we got to where we were on that day,” Goddard said. “The more we look into those things, it seems like the questions turn out to be more, because many things turn out to be different than they were before.” The released notes left some holes in the story for Goddard. “The initial notes point to the fact that a gunman was loose on campus,” Goddard said. “Nobody knew who it was. Nobody knew why. That is a potential
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see FAMILIES, page three