Electoral votes
may be factor
Presidential race may not
be decided by popular vote
By LYNDA ROBINSON
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Americans go to the polls today to
elect a president but for the first time
since 1888, the election may be decided
by the electoral college rather than by
popular vote.
Although most polls show President
Carter with a slight lead in the popular
vote, Republican candidate Ronald
Reagan has a sharp lead in the electoral
vote.
. Associate professor of political science
Bruce Murphy predicted yesterday that
the 1980 election will end in a Reagan
victory, but said Reagan will not
necessarily win the popular vote.
“The popular vote will be extremely
close with a good possibility that Carter
will win the popular vote, but because of
the set up of the electoral college, I
strongly believe that Reagan will handi
ly win the electoral vote,” Murphy said.
The last time a president won an elec
tion without winning the popular vote
was in 1888 when Republican candidate
Benjamin Harrison defeated
Democratic incumbent Grover
Cleveland.
Murphy said Reagan’s electoral lead
is a result of his strong base of support in
the western half of the country and his
challenge to traditional bases
of Democratic support in the South and
Northeast.
“It puts Carter in the position of hav
ing to pick up all or most of the undecid
ed states,” Murphy said. “Reagan has
always been able to take the western
states for granted. This has given him
•*more flexibility.”
Robert O’Connor, associate professor
of political science, said the popular vote
and the electoral vote do not necessarily
reflect one another.
“A very close popular vote can mean a
big victory in the electoral college,”
University divided on
By IRIS NAAR
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
* As the first anniversary of the invasion of the U.S.
Embassy in Iran is commemorated today, the Univer-'
sity community is still divided on the issue.
' Over the past year, several major'developments oc
curred in Iran. The death of the shah, the failed
hostage rescue attempt and the continuing war bet
ween Iraq and Iran are just some of the Iranian events
j|hat have dominated headlines.
The Iranian Parliament still is considering the
release of the hostages, but University students, of
ficials and faculty said they feel the same way now as
they did a year ago
Jesse Dillon <4th-liberal arts) said he felt powerless
when the takeover first occurred, and that he feels
basically the same way today.
“It’s been a year but nothing has really changed,” he
said. “All we can do is stand by and idly watch. It’s got
to be a very helpless feeling.
“Basically I feel President Carter has handled the
situation relatively well, considering the options he
had,” Dillon said.
■i, Vernon Aspaturian, director of the Soviet and Slavic
Area Studies Center and Evan Pugh professor of
political science, said he was outraged when the em
bassy takeover occurred a year ago.
Aspaturian said he thought it was a tragedy that a
revolutionary regime could violate the norm and go
against a powerful country such as the United States.
.. He said his outlook on the situation has remained
largely unchanged. He said he thinks the Carter ad
ministration is deficient and incompetent, and should
Brother of a hostage to speak
By DAVID MEDZERIAN
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Rev. Richard H. Schaefer will speak at a Hostage
Anniversary Ceremony at 4:15 this afternoon on Old
Main lawn. His brother, Col. Thomas Schaefer, is one
of 53 Americans being held captive in Iran.
Rev. Schaefer will deliver remarks at the ceremony,
qpmmemoratirig the one-year anniversary of the
takeover of the American Embassy in Iran. University
President John W. Oswald, the Chapel Choir and the
Photo by Bill Walter
State College Municipal Council member Carl Fairbanks speaks at last night's council meeting at which the group
completion of the State College bypass using a two-lane highway.
bindery
w 202 PATTEE
O’Connor said,
O’Connor, a Carter delegate at the 1980
Democratic Convention, predicts that
Reagan will win the popular vote by a
small percentage and will also win the
electoral vote.
Murphy said the possibility of a
discrepancy between the popular vote
and the electoral college raises the ques
tion of whether the electoral college
should be abolished.
“1 don’t think the electoral college as it
is set up now serves the function it was
intended,” Mruphy said. ‘‘lt was
originally intended to insulate the
presidency from the popular vote.”
Political science professor James
Eisenstein does not think the electoral
college will be abolished in the future or
should be.
“I would be opposed to changing the
electoral college because you don’t know
what the ramifications will be,” he said.
Eisenstein also predicts that Reagan
will win the electoral vote even if Carter
wins the popular election.
The electoral college has been in ex
istence since the Constitution was
adopted in 1787. Each state is assigned
electoral votes equal to the combined
total of congressmen and senators each
state sends to Congress, and the District
of Columbia receives three electoral
votes.
Because Pennsylvania sends 25 con
gressmen and two senators to
Washington, the state has a total of 27
electoral votes.
The presidential candidate who wins
the popular vote in Pennsylvania
receives all 27 electoral votes
regardless of how close the popular vote
may be.
Murphy said although the Democratic
candidates have benefited from the elec
toral system in the past, in this election
the system clearly favors Reagan.
4 3 CQPI E3
have done something about the hostage situation.
Frank Deffer (graduate-political science) said he
was surprised when the takeover occurred last year,
but he didn’t think the situation could last a year.
“Initially I didn’t think it would amount to a whole
lot,” he said."
“I don’t feel humiliated,” Deffer said. “I think we’ve
done as much as we can, short of war, to get them back
alive. I think it’s been a good idea to be patient.”
Jan Smith (4th-special education and elementary
education) said she does not think the release of the
hostages has anything to do with the presidential
election.
“I suppose Carter could have bribed them, but I
think he has nothing to do with it whatsoever,” she
said.
The hostage situation is an old topic of discussion
among Americans, she said
“Its kind of like they take it for granted,” Smith said
Iranian students at the University differed from
American students on their perceptions of the hostage
situation, and the Iranians voiced their opinions on the
motives of the Iranian government.
A University student and member of the Iranian
Moslem Students Association, who asked not to be
identified, said at first he didn’t know what the ra
tionale behind the takeover was. He said he studied the
situation, though, and thought what the Iranians did
was the only choice and alternative.
“It was the general will of the Iranians to do so,” he
said.
The Iranians wanted to show the world their
grievances towards the United States, he said.
Penn State Singers will also take part in the ceremony,
A 150-member unit of the Reserve Officer Training
Corps will conduct a retreat ceremony, and afterward
a U.S. flag will be presented to Rev. Schaefer.
Rev. Quentin L. Schaut, Rev. Carl H. Derk and Rabbi
Jeffrey Eisenstat will also speak.
The Old Main chimes will be rung for 15 minutes at
the conclusion of the ceremony. The bells have been
rung at noon for 15 minutes each day since Dec. 20 as a
reminder of the hostages.
daily
Old Faithfu,
W. Yerrick of Maintenance and Operations tackles a wild water fountain with
loose pipes in the basement of-Carnegie Building yesterday. “(It) seemed like
Iranian
Collegian
Vol. 81.N0.72 12 pages
• University Park, Pa. 16802
the
...
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si .-t"-
hostage crisis
The student said he feels the same way towards the
situation today.
He said the Iranian government has evidence that
high clergymen had been assassinated before the em
bassy takeover. Through confessions, the Iranian
government learned that orders for the killings came
from the United States embassy in Iran, he said.
The student said the embassy was involved in more
than diplomatic affairs. Civilians do not have the right
to be involved in spying, he said.
“The United States foreign policy has proved since
World War II that it is trying to interfere with any other
country in the Third World,” he said.
He said the United States’ affairs are none of Iran’s
business, and that the Iranians do not want to show
preference for a specific presidential candidate.
“I don’t think the hostages should be released before
Nov. 4,” he said.
The American media’s mention of the possible
release of the hostages benefits President Carter, but
nothing is heard from the Iranian side, he said.
Another student from the Iranian students associa
tion, who also asked not to be identified, said he has not
changed his mind about the situation.
“It was the best way the Iranian students could show
the American public what is happening in Iran.
“Who gave the Americans the right to have an in
terest in the Persian Gulf?” he said.
Another Iranian student said he thinks the takeover
is a lesson for one of the world superpowers. By taking
the hostages, he. said, the Iranians wanted to
demonstrate independence and rights.
“Americans can be a superpower as far as their ter
ritory,” he said, but not in other territories.
“The United States is playing a game with the
American people,” he said. “It might be more of a lie
than political.”
Another Iranian student said he thinks the hostage
situation is in the hands of the Americans.
“If the Americans were ready to accept the condi
tions the hostages wouldn’t stay for five days,” he said.
“We ask only for what is right.
“The Iranians will show the superpower they will be
independent from the east or west,” he said.
The student said the American government does not
care about the hostages, but cares about politics.
Municipal Council recommends
completion of two-lane bypass
By LORRAINE ORLANDI
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Completion of the State College bypass
using a. two-lane highway was recom
mended by the State College Municipal
Council to the state department of
transportation last night.
The council delayed action on a pro
posed resolution which would open more
council meetings to the public and action
on a proposed ordinance which would
ban the sale of drug paraphernalia to
minors.
After a two-hour discussion concern
ing work to improve turning at Park
Avenue intersections with North Allen
and North Atherton streets, which the
council recommended not be done, the
council voted to complete the bypass
with a two-lane highway and a diamond
interchange at the Benner Pike.
The council decided to delay a recom
mendation on the extension of Park
Avenue from University Drive to the
bypass until the council receives a
report on the plan from PennDOT.
Council member Ronald F. Abler
the pipe shut down, s<> my partner told me to go bark and tap the pipe, so I did.
Yerrick said. "And this is uliat I found when I came hack."
Polls say Carter-Reagan
race too close to call
From our wire services :. t
' As the 1980 presidential campaign
moves to a close, national polls say
the race between Jimmy Carter and
Ronald Reagan is too close to call.
Reagan’s big lead over Carter from
last summer is gone, as the hard
fought battle has tightened over the
past three months, following the pat
tern of presidential contests in years
gone by.
As more and more Americans focus
on the decision of which lever to pull
today, the polls also say Carter’s
hopes may be damaged because
many of those who support him may
not vote.
The original watershed mark for
the final round of polls was the na
tionally televised debate between
Reagan and Carter last Tuesday. But
late-breaking developments regar
ding the Americans held hostage in
Iran could make recent poll results
quickly obsolete.
The latest ABC News-Louis Harris
poll put Reagan at 45 percent and
Carter at 40 percent. Independent
John Anderson drew 10 percent, 1
percent named others and 4 percent
were unsure.
But a national poll taken by the
Gallup Organization for Newsweek
magazine said the race was essential
ly even: Reagan 44; Carter 43; and
Anderson 7. This survey was con
ducted Oct. 29-30 and is based on
registered voters weighted for
turnout.
A poll conducted by the Washington
Post Oct. 26-27 put Carter at 42;
Reagan at 39; and Anderson at 7
voted against any completion of the
bypass, although once the initial deci
sion to complete the bypass was made,
he voted with the rest of the council in
the recommendation that the completion
be made with two lanes.
The uncompleted two-mile section of
the 10-mile bypass is in College
Township and runs from Puddintown
Road to the Centre Hills Country Club.
David Zazworski, assistant district
engineer for PennDOT, told the council
that two lanes would “function,” and
could be expanded to four lanes in the
future.
PennDOT is receiving recommenda
tions from various local government
agencies and will hear testimony at a
public hearing on Nov. 19 before making
its recommendation to the federal
highway administration to attain federal
funds for the project. ,
Concerning the proposed open
meetings resolution, the council delayed
action after a discussion of possible
amendments to the resolution.
Council member Joseph Wakeley, Jr.,
Published by Students ot The Pennsylvania State University
n< dy&s '••■'"
among 1,000 registered voters. .
The margin for the ABC-Harris poll
is 3 percentage points and 4 percen
tage points for the Newsweek and
Post surveys.
While the polls seem to have dif
ferent results, in fact, the differences
are all smaller than the error
margins to which all polls are sub
ject. This means that the polls cannot
be said to put either man in the solid
position as the frontrunner.
Whichever candidate prevails in
the contest, the winner faces the pro
spect of the smallest mandate since
the advent of universal suffrage.
Curtis Gans, director of the Com
mittee for the Study of the American
Electorate, reports that the turnout
could fall below 50 percent for the
first time since 1924.
And the declining number of voters
will be shared by three major can
didates rather than the usual two.
Of course, every election is decided
by who actually goes to vote. But the
polls this year demonstrate that the
issue of turnout is even more critical
than ever. For example, among
registered voters, the Newsweek poll
put the race at Carter 44 percent and
Reagan 41 percent. But when the
results were weighted to reflect possi
ble turnout, the results were Reagan
44 and Carter 43.
Whatever the exact figures, the
huge margins Reagan enjoyed over
Carter in the summer have long since
faded in the heat of election cam
paigning, just as Carter’s large
margins over then-President Gerald
Ford evaporated in 1976.
who proposed the resolution, also pro
posd some of the amendments and
agreed with others proposed by Council
President Mary Ann Haas.
In other business, the council:
• Overruled Mayor Arnold Addison’s
veto of the home occupation ordinance
adopted in October. The ordinance
allows certain home occupations in
homes in residential areas with restric
tions regarding noise, changes in the ap
pearance of the home and number of
employees.
Considerable cloudiness this morning
with a shower or two possible. Then
some clearing is likely later this after
noon with a high of 58. Turning cooler
with partly cloudy skies tonight and a
low of 34. Morning sunshine tomorrow
will be followed by afternoon cloudiness.
It will be breezy and chilly with a high of
49. Partly sunny and cooler on Thursday
with a high of 48.
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