int THE BEHREND PEN N STATE Erie 4 November 8, 2002 14 Pages Vol. L No. 3 Litepublicans capture Senate, mu" Rendell wins governor race jri =- 1 4, What happens now? by Scott Soltis sports editor On Tuesday, anything but a routine mid term election occurred. It was a day of change for both the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All of the U.S and Pennsylvania House seats were up for grabs, as well as many Senate seats in both governing bodies. Although there was no presidential election, there was a gubernatorial race in Pennsylvania pitting former Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell, the Democratic candidate, against State Attorney General Mike Fisher, Republican. Mere minutes after the polls closed in Pennsylvania at 8 p.m.; Rendell was projected by Fox News Channel and many others as the winner. These projections were true, with Governor-elect Rendell winning approximately 1.9 million votes, more than 300,000 ahead of Fisher and miles ahead of the Libertarian and Green party candidates. Rendell, however, has a tough road ahead of him. A source inside the Pennsylvania Department of State says that it is very likely the Republicans will control both the House and Senate in the Pennsylvania General Assembly once everything becomes official. This would make it very difficult for Rendell to get much legislation through. On the national scene, the Republicans will gain between four and six seats in the House, increasing their majority. In the Senate, there will be a shift in power. Going into Tuesday, the Democrats were the majority party with 50 seats and one Independent. After Tuesday the Republicans will take over the majority of seats in the Senate with either 51 or 52 seats. It is not sure what the final count in the House and Senate will be due to some special elections that will occur and various other reasons. Now comes the crucial question: What does all of this mean to the students of Penn State Erie? Ron Ridgley, chair of the College Republicans of Penn State Erie, is excited and also concerned over the results of the election. On the state level, Ridgley was only "slightly disappointed" with the way the gubernatorial race turned out. He was "enthusiastic about Fisher winning Erie County." Ridgley and the rest of the College Republicans worked on the Fisher and Phil English campaigns. Ridgley expressed concerns that Governor-elect Rendell might send a great deal of state funding to Philadelphia. There are many colleges in that area, and if a massive amount of funding goes there, then Winners: George W. Bush jpi Republican dominated Congress behind him, enabling him to push his agenda. •••• • • • • NEWS 1-4 ADS 5 NOV 12 404 T i rol , so DEHRERD COLLEGE UNARY Hurst worries that with a Republican controlled Congress, President Bush will be able to pass more tax-cuts that lower government money available for programs including higher education. Hurst and Ridgley both have overall concerns that appear very true about college students and this election. "There are enormous amounts of ignorance towards government throughout our country," said Hurst. This rings true when polls show that fewer and fewer people have adequate knowledge about government. Another major problem is apathy. Until this changes and college students begin voting, we are "not going to see a whole lot of direct effect on college students," said Ridgley. Once students begin to vote there will be some major changes. Until that day, if it ever comes, college students will be forced to silently deal with the after-effects of what our state and national government decides. Speaker of the House, won re-election and widened the gap in the House. Inside EDITORIAL 6 CALENDAR 7 FEATURES 8 that means less would come here On the national level, Ridgley is more optimistic that with a Republican-controlled Congress, President Bush can turn the economy around. "Bush is more likely to be able to pass a solid tax cut to spur economic growth," he said. This would mean more jobs for recent and future college graduates. From the viewpoint of a Democrat, it is nearly a diametrically opposite situation. Ashley Hurst, president of the Young Democrats of Penn State Erie, was excited that Rendell won the election. Hurst worked on the Rendell campaign and says Rendell is "honest and upfront" and that he's not a politician who will "just go with the flow." Hurst feels that Rendell will be "a governor who will genuinely make an effort to gradually bring tuition down to reasonable levels." In addition to lowering tuition, Hurst feels that Rendell will also be able to bring more jobs to Pennsylvania for college graduates. However, she is quick to point out that a great deal of what Rendell is able to do depends on what happens at the national level. Hurst was disappointed that there was no mid-term effect in this year's national elections. The mid-term effect is a phenomenon which has happened in only two of the last 34 elections that occurred two years after the, presidential election. The mid-term effect causes the sitting president's party to lose seats in the House and Senate. Just the opposite happened this year, and Hurst (and most Democrats) were not very pleased. KRT PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL PEREZ/PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Despite a Republican sweep in the Congress, the Democrats acquired several governorships in the recent elec tions, including Pennsylvania Governor-elect Ed Rendell from Philadelphia. .., ~,., d ~ ' . i V ' # :Z Y' Ten .., ~ ._,...„ ~..„..„ • , ' ' 'e' by Mow Pawl' „, hut estimated 20 Penes/ of Belueud stows' voted in TuesdaY's el risor sio ar ,, *s of pc)i o Jo hn Gam atitical L. (*weed 30 to 40 percent VO O 4, 1.0 haVe.v oted .... A beca s. 24 i "e a i m ) lllVited 'Mors age % **4*„the elector/0 grouP ilitesslutiout• s,A4*"l4 'the” thatnumbers St many pimp explained sk is not worth the hassle. ititi ttN atalg 111$ n campus, away fro ate even ie area, student- (R) again be majority leader in the Senate A&E 9-10 SPORTS 1-4 B *'( !C . a a l / 4 41./tiellt Ph. Ikqt stag writer e s P eci a ll Y /camps - Pentle unity longer. les te their ••••••••••••••••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Losers; • co • ... • U.I •z •CL •2 •() < •1- •C •0 •>- (i) • u j •I -CC •D •0 co • 0 •-• .0 •a. U.S. Senator Daschle (D) saved face with a party win in his home state, but will no longer be majority leader in the Senate. NEWSROOM: 898-6488 E-MAIL: Offices are located FAX: 898-6019 behrcolls@aol.corn downstairs in the Reed Union Building wn this hssissA/0144 aidiessiO negative testipsiiiit, ate 4egieecy-Of /milk /A 13 4 .• di ll peg Terry McAuliffe • • • • • 40'1005 • • it 44. . 1 ..1 , . • .1• k• ' . it 40;,. • 1 • .. • • . • , • ,ir ~, ' • 4 • Dick Gephardt Minority leader, U.S. Rep. Gephardt (D), was so embarrassed by his inability to gain seats in the House, he stepped down from the position. •••••••••••••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Contact Us Minket of tinge to 'ofto ; time Election lost interest. the number of voted for often VOW IlinlCOUt Otaftle are, haPPY toter interest, at tents, ,Gantble etudents take IS so that they the government '. 0. 4 4 0 9 11 0 R. Publican and ,:htta 'could also become More .. 'iriOnOy istrolved and the school could otif7 . oo:er job of explaining why i 4 <,S ingxstan 'S ' .Wfwk wanted to vote but .. t ' : applications for absentee I 'tan he ftxnui at local libraries and 411bitie-, Students can Also'apply .. , . . 40kiegountygov.cont it is also jilletlitliktu4Ogister to vote in the Erie meg; students must cancel their 4*looo . in their hometown first. Democratic party chair McAuliffe was unable to lead Democrats to much success across the board.
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