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Heated campaigns dose today
Registration marred by server crash
Mayor and 3 council members to bechosen
BY ZAK KAZZAZ THE CHRONICLE
by
Balloting will continue today on the West Campus Plaza and in the Marketplace. Sophomore Vikram Srinivasan, an executive board member of College Republicans, proposed the event. He said he wanted to draw media attention to an overlooked group—young conservatives. “When the media talks about youth as a voting bloc, they usually focus on it as a liberal
Internet servers across campus shut down yesterday morning, sending juniors racing to computer clusters to register for classes on ACES. All residential servers stopped functioning at 6:00 a.m., and the Office of Information Technology had still not fixed the issue by 7:00 a.m., when the second junior registration window opened, according to an e-mail sent by William Cannon, senior communications strategist for OIT. “There was a problem with the server that provides IP addresses in the residence hall network,” Cannon said, adding that by 7.T0 a.m., the network was back online. Some juniors said the morning’s situation left them flustered and made registration unnecessarily stressful. “This morning was a special experience,” junior Helen Rankin said. “I had the pleasure of trying to log in and my internet was down. I was traipsing about my dorm room scantily clad in pajamas to get internet.” University Registrar Bruce Cunningham wrote in an e-mail that his office was unaware ofany issues that occurred yesterday morning, with the exception of two calls made to OIT regarding network failures.
SEE STRAW POLL ON PAGE 6
SEE REGISTRATION ON PAGE 6
Anna Lieth and NaureenKhan THE CHRONICLE
Mayoral and City Council candidates will face off at the polls today following one of the most contentious municipal races in recent years. City Council member Thomas Stith will attempt to unseat Mayor Bill Bell, who is seeking his fourth consecutive term. In addition, incumbents Diane Catotti and Eugene Brown will compete against newcomers Steve Monks, Laney Funderburk, Farad Ali and David Harris for three at-large City Council seats. In a city that is predominandy Democratic, divisive partisan politics have played a prominent role in this year’s races, candidates said. Bell, a Democrat, has repeatedly sparred with the conservative Stith, who has adamantly called for a tougher stance on crime, harsher regulations on illegal immigration and more transparency in city government.
“[Stith] said he was going to bring a campaign that Durham hadn’t seen before, and he has definitely done that,” Bell said, adding that he found his challenger’s tactics “distasteful.” Stith, however, said he was satisfied with the conduct of his campaign and hopeful that he was able to convey his message to Durham voters. “I’ve gone to great lengths to speak to the people of Durham,” he said.
College Republicans members Will Payne (center) and Sam lasher (right) run a straw poll on theWest Campus Plaza.
Straw poll aims to boost Duke's conservative voice by
Will Robinson THE CHRONICLE
Liberal students are often perceived as the leaders in activism on college campuses, but this week Duke College Republicans is responding to its Democratic counterparts by holding a straw poll of students. Students who identify themselves as Republicans were invited Monday to vote for the party’s presidential nomination and answer other questions in an informal poll.
Panhel pushes for campus real estate by
Caroline McGeough THE CHRONICLE
SEE ELECTIONS ON PAGE
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Bill Bell will become mayor ofDurhamfor the fourth consecutive term, if voters elect him today.
Each year, Panhellenic Recruitment draws hundreds of stiletto-clad freshman women to packed commons rooms and meeting halls spread across campus. But although the Panhellenic Association is the largest student organization on campus, it lacks the infrastructure to host meetings and special events that could make it a more cohesive women’s group, said Panhel President Kate Guthrie, a senior. “This conversation has been going on for 50 years,” she said, adding that this year’s discussions following the Interim Report on the Undergraduate Experience —which discussed how access to space affords privileges to certain groups—gave Panhel an opportunity to voice its needs. Currently the association has storage facilities in Trent Drive Hall and competes with other groups for neutral spaces like the Bryan Center’s Von Canon rooms to hold weekly chapter meetings. Improved access to rooms on campus, as well as SEE PANHEL ON PAGE 5
PanhellenicAssociation PresidentKate Guthrie said space for sororities hasbeen an issuefor a long time.