This round is on Xavier
Xavier pays 300% market value for the Woods and Zumbiel plant
Matthew Finger
Managing Editor
Erika Breese
No, Xavier doesn’t have a new major in packaging. The University plans to demolish the notorious Zumbiel eyesore in October.
The Norwood Café, commonly referred to as “the Woods,” is preparing for its closing and eventual destruction, which is coming sooner than most students realize.
This past June, Xavier University purchased the Norwood Café for $290,000, not including the cost of the liquor license, which is unreleased information. Xavier paid almost three times the structure’s market value, which was appraised at only $97,000.
The transfer of the liquor license is not yet complete, but is expected to take place soon.
Originally opened in 1910, the Woods is a favorite bar for local Norwood residents as well as Xavier students. During the Great Depression the Woods was known for its whiskey, as well as the presence of bookies.
This acquisition comes as part of Xavier’s East Campus development, which includes the nearly 20 acres of property enclosed by Dana Avenue, Montgomery Road, Cleneay Avenue and Ledgewood Avenue.
Unlike the Zumbiel Packaging Plant, located on Cleneay Avenue, the Woods has yet to close for business. Charles Becker, who has owned the Woods for over 40 years, says that he does not know when he will close the bar.
Erika Breese
The Woods won’t be standing tall for too much longer, as Xavier University paid $290,000 for the rights to knock it over.
This comes after Becker’s stated intent to close the Woods around June 24 of this year, with plans of retirement afterwards. This rumor circulated throughout the Xavier student body this summer, creating a huge increase of business on the supposed final night as students crammed into the bar, attempting to be a part of the Woods’ final moments.
Those final moments are, for the time being, undetermined. But given the Woods’ rich history, it is expected that a turnout of equal or greater volume will present itself for the end of a legacy.
“Eventually the site will be torn down and it will be part of the new Xavier Square development, which will include housing, retail and a hotel,” says Kelly Leon, Xavier associate vice president for public relations.
There are plans to preserve as much of the Woods as possible in an attempt to incorporate the bar into Xavier’s East Campus development.
Construction on the East Campus is set to begin in early October of this year, starting with the demolition of the Zumbiel Packaging Plant. This property was purchased by Xavier for $8,430,000. The market value of the land was, however, appraised at only $2,152,900.
Despite Xavier’s over-paying for the surrounding properties, the East Campus development project is expected to enhance Xavier’s campus, with plans for the addition of a new quad-space, a new dorm building and a hotel. The project is set to be completed in 2010.
Library renovation revs up
Katie Rosenbaum
Campus News Editor
Erika Breese
Since the first floor of the library is under construction, students must use the computers on the second floor of the library.
In order to help create more integrated learning and a resource center for both faculty and students, the first floor of the McDonald Memorial library is undergoing a complete renovation.
The new design will serve as a Learning Commons, a prototype for the Hoff Academic Quad, part of the “To See Great Wonders Campaign.”
According to the plans, the Learning Commons is “a collaborative, high-tech facility designed to meet the needs of 21st century learners.”
While no definite completion date is set, hopes are that the library will open before final exams in December, with the official grand opening to follow in the spring.
Currently, the first floor of the library is unusable. When the library is open three prototypes will be tested on the first floor: the Information Resources Center, the Collaborative Learning Zone and the Center for Teaching Excellence.
The Information Resources will combine Reference, Circulation, Technical Help and the Classroom Support Office. Currently these offices are spread throughout campus.
Mr. Robert Cotter, the associate vice president for information resources, said the plan is to allow the community to have one integrated service point.
With a front desk that acts as a “nerve center,” the plan is to address problems and questions in different departments in one location to make it easier for students and faculty to receive the help they need.
Cotter believes it will be an asset to put tech help in the same place as scholarly support because technology is so integral to academics today.
The second part of the plan for the library is to create a Collaborative Learning Zone. The plan for the learning commons focuses on students’ needs.
The anchor of the first floor will be 15 computer stations that have a lower sight line than the previous cubicle work stations in the library. This will create a more open place to study, according to Cotter.
The rest of the furniture will be moveable, based on students needs. There will be tables and chairs for group study.
Futhermore, there will be white boards, as well as plasma screens on the walls that students can hook up laptops to view PowerPoint or use other computer resources when working in a group.
The garden behind the library will also be gated off, and Information Resources believes students will move furniture outside in order to take advantage of the opportunity to study outside.
The purpose of this Learning Zone is to accommodate Undergraduate, Graduate, and Non-traditional students and provide a place where all types of students feel comfortable learning, according to Cotter.
The last component of the first floor of the Library consists of the Center for Teaching Excellence. Previously, there was a program that helped faculty further develop, enhance or redesign courses, but no official center existed.
The library will now provide a place where faculty receives “support in curricular design, teaching, scholarship and research,” according to the Learning Commons plan.
In the Center for Teaching Excellence, there will be a learning studio, which is proposed to be a gathering location for both official and more informal meetings of faculty and professionals. In addition, there will be a Faculty Lounge.
This lounge is adjacent to the Collaborative Learning Zone, which Information Resources hopes will encourage interaction between students and faculty outside of the classroom.
When finished, the 30 person committee that met to develop this new vision of the Library, hopes that the Library will better serve and unite the Xavier community.
However, now as work continues on the first floor of the McDonald Library, the computers that were on the first floor are now on the second floor.
Furthermore, the books and print material previously found on the first floor are now housed across Dana Avenue in the Alumni Center.
Xavier librarians discovered that 40 percent of Xavier’s print collection has not been circulated in ten years.
The planning committee believed it was more beneficial to move this material to the Alumni Center in order to open up the Library as a Learning Commons.
If a student or faculty wants a book or article that is housed in the Alumni Center, they must request the material, and twice a day a shuttle will transport the material back to the Library.
An On-Demand service is also available for faculty who need material quickly.
You can stop the music
Jeff McMurray
Feature News Editor
As the days drag on and the school year shifts into full gear, one thing is missing from Xavier’s campus.
The Student Activities Council Fall Concert.
With a history of bringing in artists such as Talib Kweli, Ben Folds, Guster, Trey Anastasio and Dane Cook, SAC has noticeably been without plans for a Fall concert this year.
With a summer spent looking for an artist, SAC is now at a loss as to who to have perform in Cintas Center this semester. Some of the artist SAC looked into included both O.A.R as well as The Fray.
The main target however was Ohio’s own John Legend. However, he unfortunately turned down a “substantial offer” from SAC.
“We were told before we submitted the bid that John Legend would turn it down, but we submitted it anyway knowing that we would feel better if we did,” said Ben Hewett, Special Events Chair of SAC.
Hewett continued by stressing that the budget given to SAC is not being split, instead, the budget is distributed in a way that benefits the student body.
“We distribute the money in a way that is beneficial to the student body. It is also worth noting that the success of the Spring concert depends directly on the success on the Fall concert. If the ticket sales don’t make up the money we spend, then the Spring concert will not be as strong,” continued Hewett.
At their next meeting on Sept. 5, Hewett stated that the issues surrounding the budget and the concert would be addressed.
Some of these issues include who SAC can bring in on such short notice as well as if they should not have a Fall concert and instead spend all of their money for the Spring Concert.
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Editor-in-Chief
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Senior News Editors
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