Guster set to play at annual Art Attack show

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THE DIAMONDBACK
FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2005
95TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 116
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Guster set to play at
annual Art Attack show
SEE officials refuse to confirm band’s selection
BY MEGAN WATZIN
Senior staff writer
WARNER BROTHERS
Eatery overload
THE GUSTER FILE
City struggles to
shake fast-casual
business cycle
BY SARA BLUMBERG
AND SARAH BETH CLARK
Staff writers
In the past five years, Mike
Rasta, the manager of Ratsie’s,
has watched his customers be
slowly lured away by an influx of
more then 20 new eateries,
forced to stay open later at night
to try and make up for business
lost during regular hours.
“Every day changes. We’re trying our best to attract business
from the bar,” Rasta said. “It’s
like they are taking away from
the same amount of bread,” he
said, referring to an increasing
number of restaurants catering
to a mostly stagnant student population.
As fast casual businesses continue to emerge in College Park,
regional directors of the stores
maintain they are doing well, but
analysts say it won’t last for long.
“Fast casual” restaurants —
those that combine a restaurant
atmosphere with fast food service — are very popular in places
where people between the ages of
18 and 34 live, said Joe Pawlak,
vice president of Technomic Inc.,
a
research
company
that
DISCOGRAPHY
Currently finishing U.S. tour
Formed in West
Somerville, Mass., in 1992
Named the Best Live Act
at the Boston Music Awards
Name: Keep it Together Lost and Gone
in 1997
Released:
1999
2003
Last performed at the
Label:
Sire
Palm/Reprise
university in 2001 with the
Rating:
Black Eyed Peas
Goldfly
1997
Aware
Guster will be playing at this
year’s Art Attack concert May 6,
marking the second time the group
has performed at the annual campus event, a representative for the
rock band’s record label said yesterday.
The band co-headlined the university’s 2001 Art Attack with the
Black Eyed Peas the first year Art
Attack was moved off McKeldin
Mall and into Byrd Stadium.
This year, members of Student
Entertainment Events said they are
working to book a festival lineup for
Art Attack, which has a budget of
about $100,000, but would not confirm that Guster is playing or say
what other bands they hope to
bring.
“We’re working on a big festival
lineup ... and we’re really excited,”
said
SEE
concerts
director
Please See GUSTER, Page 2
SOURCE: ALLMUSIC.COM
Johnson threatens Southern
Mgmt. with building closures
Company owns four student apartment buildings
MEGHA RAJAOGPALAN
Staff writer
Please See BUSINESSES, Page 2
County Executive Jack Johnson condemned 22 county apartment complexes as havens for crime in March,
including two owned by Southern Management Corp., which provides nearly
500 apartments for university graduate
students. Southern Management owns
Graduate Hills and Graduate Gardens
among other apartment complexes in
the county.
Johnson threatened to close these 22
complexes if they did not meet fire and
building codes within 30 days, including two of Southern Management’s
largest student housing complexes —
University Gardens and Hampshire
Village in Adelphi and Hyattsville,
respectively.
During a news conference, Johnson
said the 22 apartment complexes collectively accounted for more than
19,000 calls for county police service in
Please See LAWSUIT, Page 2
Crime surge inspires
increased security
Diversions’ best bets
We know you love the old standbys, but with all the new eateries opening in College Park,
Diversions got the scoop on the best new food selections in town.
BY LAURIE AU
Staff writer
Place: Moe’s Southwest Grill
Best Bet: The Homewrecker
Price: $6.61
Why: It’s a fancy name for a
burrito, but it’s less salty than
Chipotle’s versions and comes
with free chips. If it weren’t 150
feet further, it would give
Chipotle a run for the money.
Place: Pita Pit
Best Bet: BBQ Chicken Pita
Price: $5.76
Why: Have it your way by
starting with some BBQ chicken
at the bottom and adding in
whatever else you’d like —
peppers, lettuce, tomatoes,
sauces ... they’ve got the works.
Place: Quiznos
Best Bet: Chicken Carbonara
Price: $5.97
Why: Sure, there are more
sandwich shops than bars in
College Park, but this
concoction of chicken, bacon,
mozzarella, mushrooms and a
creamy Alfredo sauce makes
Quiznos a welcome addition.
Jack Johnson,
Prince George’s
County Executive
Place: Roly Poly Sandwiches
Best Bet: Philly Melt (#18)
Price: $5.93
Why: Even though the portions
make Potbelly’s seem filling, you
just can’t say no to roast beef,
melted jack and cheddar
cheeses, onion, mushrooms,
peppers with a side of BBQ
ranch dressing.
JOSEPH COKER–THE DIAMONDBACK
University administrators plan to make
$113,000 worth of safety improvements.
Springer surprises students with politics chat
The university will install
$113,000 worth of blue-light
emergency phones and lighting in crime-prone areas, following a surge in on-campus
robberies this semester.
Facilities Council approved
the funding yesterday following recommendations from
state, city and campus leaders
who participated in Student
Government Association-led
campus safety walks used to
identify dangerous areas.
Improving campus security
is an “extremely high” priority
for the university, said walk
participant Ann Wylie, university President Dan Mote’s
chief of staff.
Safety has become a major
Please See SAFETY, Page 2
BUDDING BLOSSOMS
Television host avoids talk about show
during lecture in Stamp Student Union
BY JORGE VALENCIA
Senior staff writer
MEGAN HUEY–THE DIAMONDBACK
Television host Jerry Springer speaks to students at last night’s SEE sponsored
event in the Stamp Student Union Grand Ballroom.
Today’s Weather:
Sunny/70s
They were expecting midget
drag queens hurling chairs at
their cheating transsexual
wives who had children with
other men.
What they got was a heavy
dose of politics.
Jerry Springer, who hosts
the Jerry Springer Show, came
to Stamp Student Union’s
Grand Ballroom not to talk
about the bizarre topics and
guests from his television
broadcasts but to discuss
Index:
Social Security and the war in
Iraq in a lively but serious
tone.
Although many weren’t
expecting Springer to spend
most of his roughly hour-long
lecture on political topics,
most students attending were
attentive and many drilled
him on his viewpoints during a
30-minute
question-andanswer session.
“Once I start talking, it’s
amazing how the interest
shifts to real things that are
Please See SPRINGER, Page 2
On-Campus . . . . . . . .2
Off-Campus . . . . . . . .3
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Features/Classified . . . .5
PETER J. CASEY–THE DIAMONDBACK
Visitors enjoy a trip to Washington’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
See Diversions, page 8, for the festival’s best events this weekend.
Diversions . . . . . . . . .8
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . .10
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