The Behrend College fcBSIB^BiIBSBSMfc^BBBIiI^HI NEWS DRIEFS 1 Singled Out The Student Programming Council is planning a version of the famous MTV game show “Singled Out” on Saturday, Nov. 16 in the Reed Commons. Through Nov. 8 SPC will have a sign-up in the Wintergreen Cafe lobby from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. for those interested in being a contestant. From those who sign up, 31 girls and 31 guys will be chosen to be contestants. If anyone is interested or has any questions, contact Brandie Gladfelter at 898-6970 or Nicole Taylor at 898-7014. Tempus call for submissions Tempus, the Penn State-Behrend Literary Magazine, is accepting submissions for the 1997 issue. Undergraduate students from Penn State- Behrend, Mercyhurst College, Gannon University, and Edinboro University are invited to submit their literary and artistic works. Poetry should be single spaced; prose should be double spaced. No longer than 15 pages for fiction and non-fiction and all artwork should be black and white. Submissions must be received by Nov. 25 to be included in 1997 Tempus. Send works to:Tempus in the SGA Suite, Behrend College, Station Road, Erie, PA 16563. Questions can be emailed to ERlC2OlOoaol.com Robbins may plead insanity Alleged Sept. 17 shooter of Melanie Spalla, 21, and Nicholas Mensah, 22, Center County authorities speculate that Jillian Robbins may plead insanity. Charged with first- and third-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and aggravated assault, Robbins will undergo a psychiatric evaluation ordered by her lawyer, public defender Deborah Lux. However, the line of defense may not work for Robbins; because of a bill recently passed by the state Senate, juries can no longer find a defendant innocent by legal insanity. Another option for Robbins who according to friends stayed at the Meadows Psychiatric Center earlier this year would be to plead guilty but mentally ill, which would put her in a psychiatric center until she is fit to go to prison "‘Courtesy the Digital Collegian located at http://wvm.colleglan.psu.edu" Low PA voter turnout Pennsylvania voter participation has been below 60 percent in every presidential election since 1972, and this year was no different • fewer than half of the eligible voters in Pennsylvania voted on Tuesday. Below 49 percent, only about 4.5 million out of the 9.2 million PA eligible voters responded to Tuesday's election. The previous low of 50 percent was in 1988, when George Bush beat Michael Oukakis for president. Even though the Pennsylvanian’s voted to re-elect a Democratic president, their ballots supported most of the state's Republican spots. State Republicans gained two Mouse seats and one senate seat on Tuesday; two of the three state row-offices were claimed by Republicans as well (Mike Fisher, attorney general and Barbara Hater, state treasurer). Bob Casey, Jr. was the only Democratic winner in the row-office races (auditor general). Pennsylvania proved to be an easy supportive win for Clinton with 23 electoral votes coming from the state. Clinton’s biggest support from the state came from Philadelphia where he won more than 400,000 votes. Life in space? Possibilities for extraterrestrial life will be explored by Dr. Roger Knacke, head of the Division of Science, in his lecture, “The Search for Life in the Universe" today at 7:30 p.m. in the Reed Lecture Hall. The lecture will describe the recently discovered meteorite from Mars which has hinted at microbia life on that planet. Knacke will discuss newly observed planets, as well as efforts to detect radio messages that might be sent to earth by intelligent life forms in outer space. Knacke’s presentation is the third of the 1996-97 Open House Nights in Astronomy. Following the lecture will be a viewing of stars and planets with the college’s small telescopes, weather permitting. Knacke is a NASA-funded scientist who has written extensively in the fields of planetary science, interstellar matter, and star and planet formation. Admission is free, but voluntary donations are accepted. For more information call the Division of Science at 898-6105. Wired for the 90’s The “High Priest of High Tech” John Battelle will speak at Behrend Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Reed Commons. Battelle is founder and executive managing editor of Wired magazine. It has been described as “one of the hottest new technology magazines around-combining Day-Glo graphics with off-beat articles ranging from the breathless to the irreverent about the 'digital generation' and its high-tech toys." Battelle is also director of new business for the magazine’s parent company, Wired Venture Ltd., which oversees Hot Wired Online Service, the largest and most successful commercial site on the Internet. WEEKEND WEATHER WITH JOEY STEVENS TODAY : Mostly Cloudy, Windy & Warm. A few showers in the afternoon. High 69° TONIGHT: Overcast, Rainy. Low 48° FRIDAY: Windy, Cooler, Clouds & showers early. High 48° SATURDAY : Windy, Cooler, Cloudy, Flurries. Some Lake Effect Snow. High 40° SUNDAY: Variably Cloudy, Windy, Cold. Additional flurries & snow. High 36° Election brings mixed feelings by Bob Misulich Collegian Staff The elections have ended and Behrend students have had mixed feelings about the outcome as well as the electoral process. Incumbent Bill Clinton clinched another four years as head of the state, the first Democrat to do so since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Because this is his final term, Clinton will not be concerned with re-election politics. Behrend junior, Jim Weaver, said, “He can finally do what he wants in his last term because he doesn’t have to worry about re election.” “Our opinion doesn’t count They should...let us elect our Promises of increased funding for doesn’t count. They should do higher education was a relevant away with the electoral college and issue for college students in this let us elect our own leaders.” year’s campaign. Clouse said he believes Dr. Rob Speel, professor of Americans need to find a way to political science, said he believes split a state’s votes according to this is more likely to happen with the popular vote. Clinton than Dole. Bob Misulich/Collegian Photographer Meeting the candidate: Two Behrend students had the opportunity to meet local candidate Susan Hughes Tuesday outside Brookside Fire Hall before Although Congress may want to Large states like California, cut spending, Clinton has the which has 54 electoral college power to veto any cuts. votes, make it vital for candidates However, neither party has wanting to win the race to capture addressed the taxation of younger these votes, citizens to help fund the elderly Political Science major, Dave entitlement programs . According Cardone said, "Our government has to Speel, the elderly have more the responsibility to get rid of clout since they turn out to vote in ‘winner take all’ states.” larger numbers; the number of Speel suggested a Two Step people under thirty who vote is less Presidential Election to make the than 30 percent. election process fair. If there is no Another issue some Behrend clear winner of the majority vote, students said concerned them is the a run-off of the top two candidates, electoral college process of excluding all others would be held, choosing the president. One down, Congress to go by Danielle M. Murphy Editor in Chief President Clinton is once again savoring the taste of victory, crushing Republican Bob Dole with a 31-state sweep. Clinton now confronts a stronger Republican Congress and a possible round of investigations on a variety of ethics issues. Clinton kept key state after key state, including past GOP states such as New Hampshire and Florida, as well as several major battlegrounds in the Midwest. The first Democrat in more than 50 years to win a second term, Clinton claimed the election held an appeal from Americans to “put aside the politics of division.” The Clinton/Gore ticket earned 379 electoral vote with ■ the Republican candidate earning 159 electoral votes. With 99 percent of the vote counted Wednesday afternoon, Clinton carried 50 percent of the popular vote (45,599,094) while Dole trailed with 41 percent (37,842,270). Reform party candidate Ross Perot earned 9 percent (7,866,627), carrying no electoral votes. Around 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, The electoral college process determines the presidential winner using the population of a state and the state’s popular vote. A candidate receives all of the electoral votes of a state if he/she wins the state’s popular vote. The number of the electoral votes is determined by the population of the state. At one point in Tuesday’s election, the country’s popular vote was split 50-50, yet the electoral votes were 276 in Clinton’s favor compared to Dole’s 98 electoral votes. Behrend senior, Chad Clouse, said he believes “our opinion own leaders.” CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN Senate while the Democrats declared Clinton victorious gained about 10 seats in the although many Western states House. Democrats needed 19 had polls open. At that time, needed to take back control of the Clinton had 275 electoral votes-- House. 270 are needed to win. f 996 Presidential Race Summary Clinton’s re-election rebuffs Republican control of Congress character attacks by both Dole promises another round of and Perot, reaffirming the investigations for Clinton, his importance of issues over wife and his administration on mudslinging in the public’s eye. ethics issues, the latest being “It’s the economy, stupid” was foreign donations to the once again Clinton’s battle cry Democratic Party, coupled with an emphasis on Dole conceded the race education and family issues. gracefully, saying, “I’m still the But Americans have again most optimistic man in America, chosen a divided government, we’re going to keep the House, strengthening a Republican keep the Senate.” -Chad Clouse Electoral Percent of Total Bill Clinton 375 49% Bob Dole 1 48 41% Ross Perot 0 8% Others 0 1% **Projected results with 77% of precincts reporting** Mike Coursey/Collegian Staff Another four years: Vice-president At Gore greets supports in Pittsburgh at last week's rally. Gore has earned another term on the Democratic ticket. Speel also noted a trend in the way people voted across the country. “There is an increased regionalism in US politics,” said Speel. “The South is dominated by the Republican Party and the Northeast and Pacific Coast tend to vote Democratic.” In recent years, mudslinging has become a large part of making or breaking political candidates. “I enjoyed watching and listening to it,” said PLET major, Justin Grimm. “It was kind of fun watching the candidates bashing each other. However, mudslinging does cloud the issues.” “Our government has the responsibility to get rid of ‘winner take all’ states.” Ross Perot, Reform candidate, made use of infomercials and character-bashing during the presidential race. • “Ross Perot’s infomercial was a paid public relation stunt,” said Mike Bard, Accounting major. “He tried to buy votes rather than let his views stand on their own.” Bard said he believes that “Perot’s campaign was more effective when he was getting free publicity through the curious media, compared to when he tried to buy it.” Speel said he also believed the infomercial prove that Perot, like Dole, used negative campaigning to get votes. 37,115,789 31,101,110 6,329,543 968,162 “It actually hurt the (voter) turnout, the public decided they wouldn’t vote for him Cither,” said Speel. A local example of mudslinging that hurt a political race was in the Buzz Andrezeski and Jane Earll race for the Pennsylvania State House. Andrezeski aired ads about a mother who was murdered while her baby slept. Earll prosecuted the case and the defendant plea bargained. The ad attempted to make Earll look like she easy on crime, but it backfired when the victim’s family came forward. --Dave Cardone After losing the election, Andrezeski admitted that running the ads cost him votes in the long run. Gender politics President Clinton owes his re election to women, who overwhelmingly voted to give him another four years. Through out his campaign, Clinton emphasized education and family issues which appealed especially to women. The strategy worked as Clinton earned 54 percent of their vote, Dole 38 percent, according to an exit poll by Voter News Service. This is the largest gender gap than an previous presidential election. Women also supported Democrats in Congress, 55 percent to 43 percent for Republicans. Failure to target the new swing voters**”soccer moms,” affluent suburban moms who were undecided, may have cost Bob Dole his campaign. Among women voters: • 61 percent said issues were more important than character. • 46 percent of vyomen and 36 percent of men think more should be done by the government in solving the nation’s problems. • 47 percent of women think Clinton is not honest but 53 percent feel Dole does not understand them. • 64 percent have an unfavorable opinion of House Speaker Newt Gingrich. • In 2000, women say they would prefer A 1 Gore as president over Jack Kemp, The first “gender gap” was discovered in 1980 when women favored Democrats in House elections; the GOP has not since closed that gap.
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