Robyn Dailey - Business Affairs Beat

With Tradewinds' decision not to renew its lease, officials have developed a plan to find another coffeehouse to take its place by August.

Tradewinds' successor will submit a bid for the space in response to a Request for Proposal sent out by the university, according to Dr. Gregory Blimling, vice chancellor for student development.

"Other companies that aren't invited are welcome to apply as long as they're running a coffeehouse or a full-service restaurant in North Carolina," said Dave Robertson, director of student programs.

All vendors must be located in North Carolina so the owners are close in case of troubles, said Robertson. Over 100 requests were sent out to vendors in Greensboro and Charlotte, said Robertson.

The vendors were selected from a list of North Carolina coffeehouses at www.smellthecoffee.com.

"The earliest we can get proposals is probably the end of May," said Robertson.

All interested vendors must attend a meeting at Tradewinds that will be scheduled for the middle of May, he said.

This course of action was determined in a meeting of officials April 18.

"We had never considered having anything other than a coffeehouse in there," said Blimling.

Local coffeehouses have already shown great interest in the prospect, said Robertson.

"We have been called by all but one of the local coffeehouses in Boone and Blowing Rock expressing interest in running this for us," he said.

After the bids have been examined and narrowed down, a selection committee of students and administrators will travel to the selected coffeehouses and make a final selection based on the experience.

The students will be coffee-drinkers and will hopefully represent organizations such as the Student Government Association and the Appalachian Popular Programming Society, said Robertson.

There will not be a coffeehouse open during the summer.

During the break, workers will recover the couches and buy new chairs for the tables on the dance floor, he said.

"The overall atmosphere shouldn't change," said Robertson.

According to Robertson, Tradewinds has decided not to renew its lease because of personal business reasons.

It is a small, family-owned business from Raleigh, and the owners have decided to leave Appalachian because they want to keep the management in the family's hands, said Robertson.

Robertson said that Tradewinds has helped promote student/faculty interaction outside of conferences and the classroom.

"We have seen how much Tradewinds contributes to community at Appalachian," said Robertson.

"The coffeehouse has been so very successful," said Blimling, "We want to keep that available for students."

Vandals strike outdoor exhibits

Craig Cox - Police Beat

Several art students observed two unidentified white males leaving the area in front of Wey Hall at approximately 3 a.m. Friday morning. It was discovered by the students working late in the art building that considerable damage had been done to Dora Natella's sculptures.

Keith Hewitt and Adam Adcock, witnesses of the two men leaving the scene, spotted a police vehicle several minutes later near the field house in the stadium parking lot.

After running across the parking lot, they explained the incident to Officer Steve Snyder, of the Appalachian State University Police Department, who then drove to the front side of Wey Hall to investigate.

"The witnesses place the time of the crime slightly before 3 a.m.," said Snyder.

"I know it happened close to 3 a.m. because I had been outside to lock the front doors 20 or 30 minutes prior to 3 a.m. and had observed a well-dressed couple looking at the art exhibit for at least five minutes," said Adam Adcock.

Describing what profile he made out Adcock continued, "One of the two white males was wearing a button-up shirt with shorts. The other was wearing a yellow Appalachian T-shirt. Both had short hair cuts and were close to six feet (tall)."

Just one night prior to the vandalism, Keith Hewitt had observed the same two men pushing over a steel horse sculpture in the same area of Friday morning's incident. Hewitt yelled at the two men, who took off running. Hewitt followed the men who entered Eggers Residence Hall.

No damage was incurred to the steel horse sculpture.

Friday morning's incident was more productive for the vandals.

The exhibit that was damaged is valued at $30,000 according to Hank Foreman, director of the Catherine J Smith Gallery.

The exhibit consists of four life-size human sculptures, three of which stand on steel platforms, with a fourth sculpted in the fetal position.

The three standing sculptures sustained damage when they were pushed over, with the feet being broken off one. The only undamaged piece was the fetal position sculpture, said Foreman.

Artist and owner Dora Natella had set the exhibit up on Tuesday in preparation for the upcoming sculpture contest in mid-May.

"The contest is limited to 10 American sculptures, and attracts acclaimed sculptors such as Fulbright scholar Dora Natella," said Foreman.

On Friday it was discovered that minor damages were incurred to another outdoor sculpture, in front of Walker Hall. The sculpture entitled "Cash Crop" sustained damages to the lighting system.

The artists in the competition are responsible for shipping the outdoor sculptures and personally setting them up.

In Natella's case, she flew across the country from Eugene, Ore., to set up her exhibit.

"If we can't get the sculptures repaired in time, Natella will lose a chance at winning the $5,000 first-prize award," said Foreman.

Foreman noted that Natella's sculptures are coated with Corvette paint, with other hand-painted sections. The expense in painting the damaged items could be enormous.

Several art students mentioned the possibility of having a fund-raiser to pay expenses for the necessary repairs.

"We are going to do what we can to repair the damages, but the liability of the work ultimately rest with the artist, and that is understood by both parties," said Foreman.

"An incident of vandalism against art disgusts me," said Adcock. "It makes the entire school look bad to the art community."

"The entire police department is taking this seriously, I think the chances of catching the guilty parties is good," said Snyder.

Elizabeth Frye - Multicultural Beat

The Department of Family and Consumer Sciences annually holds a program that awards and shows off the work of its students.

Spring Showcase 2001, entitled "Across the Universe," was held Saturday, April 28, in the Grandfather Mountain Ballroom of Plemmons Student Union, and included scholarship announcements, a fashion show and an awards banquet.

The event began with the recognition of scholarship winners.

Caroline Shillito received the Jim and Karen Hastings Interior Design Scholarship, and Jennifer K. Jones was awarded the Celia Roten Award for Clothing and Textiles.

The Karen L. McNamara Memorial Scholarship was given to Margaret Gillis, Jennifer Leaton, Rachael Mainquist and Kimberly Myers.

Jodie Rivers obtained the Terry Scholarship, and the Vivian and John Welborn Scholarship was awarded to Tiffany Ashford, Marisa Fialka and Amanda Comstock.

The Mary Hoffman Farthing Scholarship went to Terri McKay and Michelle Tuttle, while the Annie Dougherty Rufty Scholarship was given to Rebecca Bailey.

Mary H. Graham received the Madge Rhyne Student Teaching Scholarship, and Christin D. Hammond was awarded the College of Fine and Applied Arts Scholarship.

Finally, Meghan McDowell and Betsy Stem both obtained the Greensboro Triad Textiles and Apparel Club Award.

After the presentation of scholarship recipients, the fashion show began. "The fashion show was organized by the Apparel Design and Production class, and contained designs and constructions from students in the Clothing and Textile courses," said Stem, who takes Apparel Design and Production. All students in the classes of Clothing Construction, Flat Pattern Design, Apparel Design and Production and Apparel CAD participated in the fashion program.

While students in the beginning Clothing Construction class used patterns for the clothes modeled at the show, the students in the other classes designed their own original outfits.

According to Stem, the fashion display was not in order by class. The order of the apparel being shown was instead done more by colors and patterns. Each student constructed several outfits for the show; for example, five of Stem's outfits were modeled.

Spring Showcase 2001 was concluded with the distributing of achievement awards to the Clothing and Textile students.

Martha A. Marking, an associate professor in the theatre and dance department who is in charge of costume design, chose the award winners. Best of Construction went to Emily Cook.

Best of Flat Pattern was awarded to Heather Killian.

Best of Apparel CAD was awarded to Erin Adair.

Stem and Alison Rosenberg both received Best of Apparel Design and Production, and Best of Show went to Brandon Aldridge.

"I love the show," Stem said. "I think it is a great experience that can be related to real life and can be learned from for future events."

James Mangum, who attended Spring Showcase 2001, said, "I thought the show was great. They did a good job."

Nothin' could be finer than High Country summer

Sean Oakley - Features Beat

Summer has finally come! Though the freedom of summer break still lies just beyond the adversity of spring finals, it's almost time to start celebrating.

Appalachian State University students more than deserve this break. After shoveling through piles of papers, tests, grades and the constantly increasing pressures of college life, the reward is three months of uninhibited relaxing and replenishing.

Many students bolt out of town the first chance they get, opting to enjoy beaches instead of mountains. Yet, for those who do choose to spend their summer here in Boone, this area will not be disappointing.

Summer is Boone's throne, its apex. The weather is simply perfect. Hot mornings give way to the light drizzle of afternoon showers, which in turn creates a cool atmosphere that allows summertime residents to wear long-sleeved shirts and shorts in the evenings.

Besides the weather, Western North Carolina contains an abundance of attractions to see and events to attend.

For the outdoorsman, summer in Boone could be considered heaven. While it would take a lifetime to completely explore all that Western North Carolina has to offer, a summer will give the average student plenty of time to experience a good share of this oasis. The only real question is, where to begin?

Luckily the Blue Ridge Parkway serves as a backbone to most of the area's outdoor attractions. It can offer a scenic drive through the undulating mountains of Southern Appalachia, or as a convenient place to begin a trek into the backwoods.

Intertwined with the Parkway is the 13.5-mile-long Tanawha Trail. Tanawha, a Cherokee word for Òfabulous hawk or eagle,Ó is an appropriate description of this trail that runs over man-made dirt paths and boardwalks through an assortment of summits, waterfalls and Rhododendron.

The Tanawha Trail runs alongside the Parkway from milepost 305.5 to 297.1. According to the North Carolina Parks Service, $750,000 was spent in producing the carefully designed walkways that allow visitors to travel through the fragile mountain ecosystems while causing little to no damage, providing that visitors obey the signs and stay on the trails.

Though the Tanawha Trail is open year-round, many of the visitor centers and attractions on the Parkway close for the winter. The Doughton Park picnic area and campground will open May 4, while the Linn Cove Visitor Center will open May 5.

Also on May 5, the Linville Falls Visitor Center will begin full operations. Its campground and picnic area were opened April 6.

The Price Park picnic area opened April 27 and the entire campground will begin full operations May 5.

In search of more rugged terrain? The Linville Gorge, also known as the Grand Canyon of Southeast, offers a wilderness unscathed by human development or destruction.

The steep walls of the gorge enclose the Linville River for a length of 12 miles. Originally designated a wilderness area in 1951, the park now encompasses 10,975 acres of rugged terrain.

Notable points of interest include Table Rock, called Attacoa by the Cherokees, Conley Cove and Wiseman's View. According to legend, Wiseman's View was named for ÒUncle FeteÓ Wiseman, a local settler, who found the view to be his favorite.

The gorge can be a potentially dangerous place and a visit first to the Linville Falls Visitor Center is highly recommended by North Carolina Parks Service. There, information can be collected in the form of maps, books and park rangers.

Of course, the gorge is not the only attraction to share the name Linville. Linville Caverns are another attraction that contain the town in their name.

Beneath Humpback Mountain, centuries of slowly moving ground water has carved out a labyrinth of tunnels and rooms. With a constant temperature of 52 degrees, the caverns are also home to many bats and blind trout, which cannot see because they have spent their life in the dark.

Starting June 1 and reaching through Labor Day, the caverns will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission rates are $5 for adults, $3 for children (5-12) and $4 for senior citizens (62+).

Still outdoors, but more on the festive side, are the Highland Games held on Grandfather Mountain.

A Scottish-clan extravaganza, the Highland Games begin July 12 and include a interesting mix of athletic competitions, music, dancing and Scottish celebrations. The event also includes the Bear Run, a foot race up Grandfather Mountain.

The annual Highland Games are a four-day event that invite interested participants from around the United States and the world to return to the days of gaelic folklore and festivals.

Another festival in the area this summer is the Bele Chere festival in Asheville and will take place from July 27-29 this summer. During the festival, the city of Asheville closes a large portion of the downtown to vehicles. Last year, nine stages were set up around town and more than 100 performers played.

Lined with food, beverage and an assortment of other vendors, the streets become a playground for the hundreds of thousands of people who attend. Last year the attendance was estimated at 360,000 people.

While there is no feasible way to lay out all the summertime Boone options in this article, hopefully it will at least spark some interest. Competing with the summertime tradition of the beach is hard, but the mountains of North Carolina are one of the few places that honestly can.

Adam Bennett - Associate Editor

Junior J. Patrick Sills was chosen to lead WASU 90.5 FM next fall as station manager by Dr. Gregory Blimling, vice chancellor for student development.

Sills, a 21-year-old communication/electronic media & broadcasting major is originally from Matthews, near Charlotte.

He graduated from Providence Senior High School where he was involved in technical theater and worked at the yearbook as a photographer. Sills was also involved with Boy Scouts, in which he received the highest honor of Eagle Scout.

He became interested in WASU in 1997 when the staff helped the station earn first-place honors in the Best College Radio Station category of the National Conference of Student Electronic Media, hosted by the National Association of College Broadcasters.

The spring semester of his freshman year allowed him to learn what it would take to be a DJ at WASU. He spent his sophomore year as a disc jockey and was promoted to music director this academic year.

"A lot of kids don't like the music I listen to, so I wanted to understand what they want," said Sills.

Sills said he wants WASU to give students the closest real-world experience possible.

"I feel a lot of stuff we have done this year is excellent," said Sills. "If we can get past the negatives of this year, we will be a great station for this campus. Getting together and working as a team is what it's all about," he said.

Concerning the music format next year, Sills said, "Some DJ's like our music and some don't. I would like to have weekday specialty shows for students with different tastes."

Sills is currently in the process of interviewing staff for next year.

He said he wants to make the station come to life and have a different sound everyday. "On this suitcase campus, students cannot wait until the weekend to hear a change in format," he said.

"If I had one word to describe him, it would be very dedicated," said Jon Watkins, current WASU station manger. "He will definitely put his heart and soul into the job."

Dr. Carl Tyrie, faculty advisor for WASU FM, said he had confidence in either candidate chosen for the job. It was a "no-lose situation," he said.

Dr. Paul Gates, professor of communication, said, "I've seen Patrick perform in class and he's, I think, committed to doing a good job for ASU. I trust his judgment."

"I'm glad they picked him. I think WASU will have a good year under his leadership," said Gates.

L. Nicole Tallent - SGA Beat

The vice president of the Student Government Association is one person who is often overlooked. While we generally seem to know what is going on in the political life of any student-body president, it is not often that we take time to see the underlying work that is involved backstage in the political arena of a student governmental body.

The vice president of SGA serves as the president of the Senate, and must plan meetings, arrange for special speakers and oversee business meetings as well.

In addition, the vice president must appoint the sergeant at arms, a parliamentarian, the chairman pro tempore, and four cabinet positions (rules director, director of external affairs, director of student affairs, and the director of academic affairs) as well.

COSTNER RECALLS TIME IN OFFICE

While an undergrad, then-21-year-old health psychology major Kiley Costner, from Shelby, was elected during the spring of 1999 to serve as SGA vice president for the 1999-2000 academic school year.

Currently, Costner is a Master's candidate in the health psychology program at Appalachian.

While Costner had always been a motivator, a good leader and an organized person, she found it sometimes challenging to be not only a student at Appalachian, but the vice president of SGA as well.

"You have to balance your time between being a student and being the vice president. People are always looking for you to do good things, even in bad situations," said Costner.

Costner feels that her true duty as vice president was "to be a liaison between the students and the administration."

As for the hardest thing she encountered in SGA, Costner said, "The toughest thing I had to deal with was the criticism of those who are not involved in SGA."

"Many people do not know how much work is involved in this position, and simply expect everything to be perfect. ... Many people can be very quick to criticize you when things do not work out the way they had hoped."

Costner also found encouragement from her work in SGA. "Being vice president challenged me to be available to the senators and encouraged me to think outside the box," said Costner.

"It was the best experience I've had in my 23 years of life and it helped make me who I am today," she continued.

While many people believe that the vice president is really the person who does all the hard work in office, and the president is more of a representative to administration and university trustees, Costner does not.

When asked what she thought about the statement, Costner said, "I do not agree with that. The president and vice president have two totally different jobs, and neither one can exist without the other. Sam [Searcy, the SGA president during the 1999-2000 academic year] and I worked really well together."

As for any concerns about the fact that she was a female, Costner said that she never had a problem presented to her based on her gender. "It was nice to have both a woman and a man in office ... a nice balance."

Costner said that she would give upcoming vice president Amanda Privette a few pieces of advice. "First, be yourself. Enjoy every minute of the time that you are here, because it goes by so fast.

"Also, don't let critics get you down. Remember that you were elected to this position because people thought that you would do a wonderful job. Just keep that in mind," Costner said.

As Costner's term as vice president was ending, another term, for a newly elected management major from Summerfield, near Greensboro, was just beginning.

END OF TERM NEAR FOR POWELL

Preston Powell was elected in the spring of 2000 to serve as vice president for the 2000-2001 school year.

Powell said that he had more of an idealistic view of the way the position was supposed to be, and that "it wouldn't be too hard to get platform goals accomplished." Powell said that the job was definitely more than he expected it to be.

Also, Powell said that the toughest aspect of his job "was dealing the slow bureaucratic process that makes up (the office of) Business Affairs."

"It has, however, been exceptional working with Chancellor Borkowski and Dr. Blimling (vice chancellor for Student Development)," Powell continued.

Powell said that although the position as vice president is challenging, "I do have memorable moments. The time when the Senate was evenly split over our first Higher Education Act debate and vote was very memorable.

"Both parties worked, researched and debated together. The whole Senate worked hard. It's this kind of moment, when people really work, that makes the whole position seem so worthwhile," said Powell.

When asked whether or not he would pursue politics in the future, Powell said, "When I came to Appalachian, I didn't come here with the mindset of becoming vice president. A need arose, and I felt that I needed to do something about it.

"Politics should be something to get involved in when necessary ... and I will get involved if I see something that needs to be done," said Powell.

Powell, who will reach the end of his term this week, does have plans for after he graduates this May. "I am a management major, and I am geared toward International Business, namely, toward the People's Republic of China.

"I have applied for a position as a Quality Assurance Analyst in Hong Kong, by a company called Footstar/Meldisco, which is one of the leading shoe manufacturers in the world."

As he nears the end of his tenure as SGA vice president, Powell also has words of wisdom for the incoming vice president.

Powell said, "Choose good people for your cabinet, maintain a strong position with them early, and be patient.

"Also, the time goes by fast, and you probably won't get all of your platform goals accomplished, but enjoy it while you're here."

PRIVETTE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE ROLE

As Preston Powell prepares to move out of his office and end his term, rising junior Amanda Privette is preparing to move in and begin her new term as vice president of SGA.

Privette, a native of Matthews, said, "I want to seem as approachable as possible, to both senators and students. My job is to keep the lines of communication between the students and the SGA administration open."

As for how she plans to carry out her new role, Privette explained "I want to bring my knowledge of SGA into the position, and I want people to put their faith in my experience as a Senator. I want to be very open and approachable."

When asked what aspects of past vice presidents like Powell and Costner she has seen that will help strengthen her own administation, Privette said, "Both Preston and Kiley were strong, knowledgable leaders. They welcomed the new senators, and I want to do the same."

But as for things that she hopes to do differently from other vice presidents, Privette said that she wants to be in her office more. "While academics are my number-one priority at Appalachian, the majority of my time will be spent in the office.

"I want to be there to work more one-on-one with the senators and with the students."

As for what she thinks will be the hardest part of her new job, Privette thinks that handling situations with senators who "are not fulfilling their obligations" will be the hardest. "If a senator hasn't been attending their constituent meetings, their RSAs or Operation Outreach, it will be my responsibility to tell them that they are not performing to the fullest and that they need to change what they're doing."

And as for encountering any difficulties because she is a woman, Privette is confident and optimistic. "There will probably always be people who will prejudge you in all walks of life because of things like gender, race, or political affilitation. I don't think that this will be a problem at all in this position."

While Privette is only at the beginning of her term as vice president, she has already given thought to being a member of the United States Congress in the future.

"I'm not promising that you'll see my name on the ballot anytime soon, though," said Privette. "I've become more interested in the judicial side of politics. Maybe one day I'll be a judge."

While Privette may have dreams of becoming a judge, she also has dreams of going to law school at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Her aspiration is to pursue international law, and possibly work with the United Nations or as an ambassador to a French-speaking country.

Privette will be officially inaugurated Thursday, along with SGA president-elect Xan Harrington and the duo's newly-appointed cabinet.