Newspapers / Gardner-Webb University Student Newspaper / Dec. 4, 2008, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page A2 Thursday, Dpcember 4, 2008 The Pilot The Gondola restaurant News ship on uneven course By Lauren Taylor Pilot editor in chief The Gondola, the new Ital ian restaurant on Highway 74 across from Jack in the Box and Applebee’s in Shelby, is a boat with a few holes to plug up. There were so many “leaks” in the place that instead of float ing gracefully down the water way, the staff was frantically bailing to cover up the restau rant’s shortcomings. For instance, after five min utes of watching the wait staff stand around idly, our server fi nally took drink orders. Had we not asked for plates and silverware, we would have been eating with our hands, off the table, but at least the wait ress kept the sweet tea coming. Being an Italian restaurant, I was expecting an interesting flavored tea, yet what we got had all the flair of the renowned BoJangle’s iced tea. My friend and I ran into some other GWU students while there, and two of them said their dining experience was poor. “Don’t get the fettuccini Al fredo,” one said. “It had an odd sweetness to it and was very bland.” The other said that his food was delicious because of the marinara. But when we asked the waitress to tell us about the sauces, all she knew was that they were homemade. She knew very little else about the menu altogether—so little, in fact, that she suggested a fried rice ball appetizer. Imagine eating a rice casse role made with cream of mush room soup, rolled into a ball, and deep fned. That’s what it was like. Weird. It came with crackers and marinara. Thank goodness we also or dered the bmschetta appetizer. The dish of big, fresh to mato chunks with herbs covered in olive oil was unlike any other I’d ever had — in a good way. The bmschetta was over-oiled, but still good. AiW^icking J^tizers, the task of wading through the rest of the menu was difficult. There were too many non-Mediter ranean dishes cluttering up the options, such as cheeseburgers and chicken tenders. While waiting for our sal ads, we realized how incredibly bright it was. The large crystal chandeliers were overkill when combined with the house lights, so for dinnertime there was no ambience. The hum of other patrons’ conversations and clinking forks were madding without music to drown it out. To our dismay, the entrees were served before our salads arrived, so instead of taking them off our tab, the waitress apologetically brought them to us anyway. Our friend was right about the mai^ara; it absolutely delici^^ith th^Bagna. The mozzaSla was OTsh and the serving size hearty. The combination lamb-and- beef gyro had enough meat on it to make three more. It had the consistency and richness of sausage and would have been perfect with only two or three strips. We were seated by the door on a cold, rainy night and our food cooled quickly. Further dampening our expe rience was dessert. The German chocolate cake and strawberry cheesecake from the in-house bakery were tme fiascos. Soggy, under-baked layers made the chocolate frosting a chore to eat, and the tasteless, over-whipped cheesecake with a store-bought glaze was totally uneventful. Overall, I give the Gondola a D-t. The marinara sauce and bmshetta saved the night, giv ing the food a 75 percent rating. But the atmosphere and service were frill of kinks and inexperi ence, chopping that grade down to 60 percent. The good news is those are holes that will probably be patched over time. For the bud get diner, the fact that nothing is priced over $14.95 is a relief. Gates urges Obama to invest in education, cutting poverty By Emily Cahn The GW Hatchet, George Washing ton U/UWIRE Bill Gates urged President-elect Barack Obama and his adminis tration on Wednesday morning in George Washington University’s Marvin Center to continue funding education reform projects and to re duce global poverty despite the eco nomic downturn. In his first public speech since September, the co-founder of Mi crosoft said the United States needs to be optimistic and must continue to fund long-term goals, even in a bleak economy. “If you look at the stock market, business activity or budget deficits, things are dark,” Gates said. “But if you consider our capacities and op portunities, our passion and vision, the outlook is bright. We can keep moving toward a world where every child grows up in good health, goes to a good school and has opportu nities waiting—as long as we stay confident about the future and keep investing in it.” Gates is the co-chair and trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foun dation, the world’s largest philan thropic foundation. He said he was impressed with GW students’ com mitment to two of his foundation’s causes: the improvement of U.S. ed ucation and the reduction of global poverty. He said he was especially im pressed that GW ranks No. 1 in students who join the Peace Corps after graduation and that the largest, employer of GW graduates is Teach for America, an organization that promotes a better education for mi nority and low-income students in public schools. “If young people in America make the kind of choices that people make here at GW, we are going to have a great future,” Gates said. During his speech, he urged the federal government to put more money toward recruiting better teachers and creating incentives for students to earn college degrees. Gates said if the government puts education and the reduction of pov erty on hold, there will be an even greater divide between rich and poor when the economy bounces back. “If we don’t make these people part of the investment now, when the economy comes back, they won’t be coming back with it,” Gates said. After Gates’ address, GW profes sor and CNN special correspondent Frank Sesno moderated a question and answer session with members ^ of the audience. ^ One audience member, an Ital ian journalist, asked Gates if he sup ported increasing taxes on the rich to fund education and the reduction of poverty. Gates said he didn’t mind having his taxes raised. “Now people can say, ‘You’re so rich you don’t mind.’ That’s true,” Gates joked, drawing laughter from the crowd. He added, “But overall, the pen dulum will swing in the direction of taxation in this country being more progressive and I personally think that’s fine.” | Gates also offered advice to stu dents who hope to create a better system of education in the U.S. and reduce global poverty. He said the key was taking an interest in these issues to form “a broader constim- ency” instead of depending on “a few enlightened leaders.” “I think, in your young years, to get out and get involved and being a strong voice in terms of your giving, your volunteering time and how to speak out politically will put these issues on a much sounder footing than they’re on today,” Gates said. “I’m thrilled that there is this inter est, where GW is at the forefront of it, but it can become much more broader than that.” H20 Project trades caffeine for cash By Micky Deming Daily Eastern News, Eastern Il linois U / UWIRE Wyatt Waterkotte loves an or ange Crush soda. He enjoys the taste of soda in general and his body is used to the caffeine. For two weeks, he about 50 other Eastern Illinois University students didn’t hear the pop of the tab on a soda can, or the sound of coffee brewing in the morning. The only liquid going into their bodies was available from their own faucets: boring water. These students participated in the H20 Project, a nationwide challenge to drink only water. The money that would have been spent on other drinks is donated toward ef forts to build wells in other parts of the world where clean water is not so accessible. The money went to the Blood/ Water organization and Convoy of Hope, as $1,050 was collected at Eastern to build a well in Africa. Christian Campus House brought this imique idea to Eastern. The World Health Organization gives some eye-opening facts. More than one billion people in the world don’t have access to clean water and have to drink from polluted or in fected water sources. The WHO also said 1.8 million children worldwide die from water bourn diseases, which translates to 5,000 deaths a day. More than half of Africa’s population doesn’t have sanitary drinking water, according to the United Nations. Women and children often walk two hours each way to retrieve water, which is usu ally dirty, for their families. Sacrifice is the intention of the H20 Project: for someone to give up something that seems like a ne cessity, but is truly just a luxury. Water is a necessity. In the U.S. we can have it whenever we want, and we often have to buy bottled . It is hard to fathom water bad enough to cause blindness, guinea worm or even death. The official Web site of the H20 project says $1 can give a person in Africa clean water for a year and $10 would be enough for a lifetime. So when Waterkotte went to Mc Donald’s and had some water with his meal instead of his usual Dr. Pepper, he put the dollar saved aside and made a difference in the world. Paying for College 101 Seeing ads about how easy it is to get up to $40,000 for college? That "easy money" is probably a high-interest loan—which won't be easy when it's time to pay it back. Visit CFNC.org and your college financial aid office for free information on better ways to pay for college. CFHC-or^ Of 8&fi>-8^»-CFNC ColIege>^® Foundation of North Carolinct tjelp'mj yDit Apply, p«ey fir ctlle^c © ^BPsthways, College Foundation, Inc., and State Education Assistance Authority (CFNC) Servicios en espariol disponibles
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