Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_vol. 94, no, 6i Friday march 2,2001_ e Carolina Community since 1Q08 WWW.DAILYGAMECOCK.COM UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA . COLUMBIA. S.C. V STUDENT GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS: Vice-presidential runoff decided by 81 votes Voter turnout lowest in years by Jarvis Holliday The Gamecock When the official number of voters from the recent Student Government elections is released next week, it’s expected to be more than 1,000 votes less than turnout in 2000, according to election officials. This is the second year in which students have been able to vote for SG candidates online. The 2000 election saw a 17 nereent voter increase from 1999 to 2,965 votes in the general election, an all time high. In * 1999,2,527 students voted in the general election. However, this year, with the same voting system in place, only about 1,700 students Voter turnout Year Votes 2001 1.700* 2000 2,965 1999 2,527 1998 2,233 1997 2,273 1996 2,123 1995 2,539 1994 2,380 •Estimate visited the university’s VIP Web page to vote for president. Fewer students voted this year than in either of the past two elections, but the official number of students who voted this year won’t be released until next week. SG President Jotaka Eaddy believes there might be a number of reasons why voting decreased this year. She said the * weather was a big factor. “It rained on one of the voting campaign days, and that hurt candidates who were trying to gel the word out,” she said. Eaddy also said she thinks there are some continuing reasons why many Turnout seepages Bala edges White to win VP r - : "■mmm ABOVE: SG Vice President-elect Nlthya Bala speaks with Lelgh-Anne Travers, a member of her campaign staff, Feb. 22 after finding out she was heading to a runoff with Sen. Nathan White. Bala defeated White by 81 votes In the runoff. RIGHT: Sen. Nathan White reacts Feb. 22 to the announcement of a runoff between him and Bala. Photos by Mackenzie Clements/ The Gamecock ■ Freshman Council adviser wins with more than 52 percent of vote by Cristy Infinger The Gamecock Freshman Council Adviser Nilhya Bala defeated Student Government Sen. Nathan While by a slim margin in this week’s hotly contested SG vice-presidential runoff election. * Bala won by 81 votes, 832-751. She took 52.6 percent of the vote to White’s 47.4 percent. “I’m pretty excited.... I’m just glad that it is over,” Bala said. “I’m looking forward to beginning [the new term].” White said lie was disappointed by the loss, but he wasn’t discouraged in his efforts . to work in Student Government. “I’m disappointed.... We didn’t do enough to get the vote out, “ White said. But White said he wishes Bala well. “I hope that [Bala] does a good job with the senate,” he said. Bala has an extensive*campaign platform to carry out in her term as SG vice president. Her main focus after she’s inaeuarated on March 21 will be to get senate meetings televised and to Till empty senate seals. Bala said she would “make a valiant effort” to fill the seats, especially in engineering, which has only one senator. Some of Bala’s other campaign ideas include more perimeter parking for ofT-campus students and a coalition to lobby for improved safely measures on and around campus. Bala’s win in the election came despite an endorsement by The Gamecock for White. “I’m glad that The Gamecock’s blatant disregard for journalistic integrity has had no impact on the student body,” Bala said. Bala wasn’t the only SG member to protest The Gamecock's endorsements in this year’s elections. Senate defeated a resolution Wfednesday introduced by Sen. Tyson Nettles tliat would have condemned the endorsements. SG President-elect Corey Ford said he would have been happy with any of the candidates as vice president because he’s friends with all of them. “I really .would have been pleased with ‘I’m disappointed.... We didn’t do enough to get the vote out.’ Nathan White College of Liberal Arts senator any of the outcomes,” he said. Ford said the fact that Bala has an extensive agenda of her own doesn ’l bother him. “1 think that some of the ideas that we have coincide with each other,” he said. “I don’t see any problems with each other on that.” Thursday’s announcement of Bala winning the SG vice presidency brought to a close an election fraught with infractions. More than 60 violations were filed, citing, among oilier tilings, incorrect pudvnig ui vumpmgn [/woivu uiivj uivgui meetings by candidates. During the fust round of the campaign, “campus beautification” posters calling for a removal of all Greeks from campus and listing While’s phone number were attached to While’s posters. This week's runoff was triggered after Bala failed to win more than 50 percent of the vote in the general elections. In the first election, Bala look 44 percent of the vote to Wliile’s 22 percent. Sen. Brian Hunter took 20 percent, while Institutional Allairs Director Adam Bourne grabbed 13 percent of the vole. One of the more contentious elements of the campaign was the opposing slogans during the runoff — White supporters wore red campaign shirts reading “Make It Complex” in obvious parody of Bala’s green “Keep It Simple” campaign sliirls. The university desk can be reached at gamecockudesk@hotmaiLcom Power to appoint in air for Lottery Commission by Brooke Bryenton ' The Gamecock Despite the increasing number of hours spent in subcommittee meetings mulling over lottery legislation, several lottery issues still must be decided, such as who will have the power to appoint members of the S.C. Lottery Commission. As it stands, Gov. Jim Hodges has the authority to appoint each member of the seven-member commission, as proposed in the initial stages of lottery planning. Hodges thinks he should make all decisions regarding the commission, according to his spokeswoman Cortney * Owings. “The governor believes that this is a power that he should hold,” Owings said. “It would allow the committee to be controlled by one person.” Susan Musser, assistant director of research to the Senate Judiciary Committee, said there are pros and cons to either side. “There are two schools of thought on this,” Musser said. “First of all, giving the governor complete control would put one person in charge — one person who would be accountable for everything if something goes wrong. The public would go to him. The other side is that this gives him too much power.” Musser also said the bill requires the consideration of race and other demographics. This requirement would be easier to carry out if the governor made appointments, she said. “If appointments are divided, who’s gonna say, ‘You do the minorities and you do this group’?” Musser said. Lottery seepages Student Senate Resolution to censure Gamecock fails Ann Marie Miani/The Gamecock SG Sen. Tyson Nettles proposed a resolution to discourage The Gamecock from endorsing candidates in SG elections. by Brandon Larrabee The Gamecock Student senate defeated a resolution Wednesday urging The Gamecock not to endorse political candidates in Student Government elections. The amendment, which also “suggests The Gamecock lakes steps to increase its level of professionalism as a representative of the student body,” failed on a 15-11 vote. Three senators abstained. Sen. Tyson Nettles, who sponsored the bill, said it was prompted by an item in Wednesday’s edition of The Gamecock. While Nettles didn’t specifically mention the item he was responding to, the newspaper had repeated its endorsement of Sen. Nathan White for vice president that day. “I think what has been going on has kind of overstepped the boundaries,” Nettles said. Sen. Hydrick Harden also supported the resolution. “I’m not here to say The Gamecock does not Itave the right to say what they want in their paper,” Harden said. “It looks as though The Gamecock is behind one particular candidate,” Harden said, adding that the endorsements might give the impression that USC backed a candidate. “While I don’t hold to that aigument, some people do,” he said. Harden also said it wasn’t an issue of freedom of the press. “This is not a First Amendment argument. This is simply a request by Student Government to preserve the sanctity of our elections,” he said. But Sen. Chrissy Stauffer defended the newspaper, saying The Gamecock had the right to endorse candidates. Censor seepages Weather Cominc^LJp Quote of the Day Online Poll e A look at SG President Jotaka Eaddy’s term I Next Week “Success has a great tendency to conceal and throw a veil over the evil deeds of men.” — Demosthenes 1 Should Eddie Fogler keep his job as head basketball coach after this season? Yes: 53% No: 47% » Look for next week’s question at www.dailygamecock.com