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STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 31
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2006
Students face roadblocks at Wydown polls BY DAVID BRODY AND MANDY SILVER NEWS STAFF Hundreds of upperclassmen encountered obstacles when attempting to vote at Wydown Middle School yesterday, unaware they were no longer registered at that polling location. Former South 40 residents were offered provisional ballots that could potentially go uncounted, leading many to express the concern that their voice would not be heard. According to election officials, St. Louis County Board of Elections sent postcards to students at their previously registered addresses, asking them to confirm their residence. Many students claim that they never received the change of address cards. Election Official Jill Cummings explained that the students, who originally registered as residents of the South 40, moved off-campus to other areas without updating their addresses with the Board of Elections.
“Apparently the Board of Elections sent them a postcard and they did not respond, so they were dropped [from the rolls],” she said. Cummings instructed the students to call the Board of Elections, which confirmed that the students were in fact registered voters. Since the student voters were not on the lists at Wydown Middle School, they were not allowed to vote using a normal ballot. Instead, they were instructed to fill out provisional ballots. A provisional ballot is provided to voters whose names do not show up at a polling location’s registry on Election Day. “When a person votes provisionally, the election board will verify if a person has a legal right to vote. If the voter casts a provisional ballot at an incorrect polling location or is for some reason ineligible to vote, their ballot is spoiled,” said election supervisor Charles Ault. John Diehl, chairman of
the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, confirmed that provisional ballots must be cast at the correct polling station in order to be counted. The prospect of casting provisional ballots was an undesirable alternative to some students because they are not evaluated for up to two weeks after the election. Students also worried that if Wydown Middle School was not the voters’ correct polling location, their ballots would be tossed out. Senior Aaron Weininger, who now lives off-campus, voted at Wydown Middle School in 2004 when he lived in Hurd House. “I checked in to vote and they didn’t have my name registered on the list. I was told to fill out a provisional ballot,” said Weininger. “However, I didn’t want to do that because the provisional ballots are not counted the day of the election.”
Problems persist throughout the day Senior Aaron Keyak, President of College Democrats, received initial reports of problems at Wydown Middle School early Tuesday morning. Keyak went down to the polling station to aid and inform student voters in a nonpartisan manner. Keyak advised students not to vote with provisional ballots and arranged vans to take students to the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners office, where they could cast a regular ballot. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) monitors reported hundreds of Washington University students passing through the commissioners’ office over the course of the day. Senior Jazzy Danziger
DAVID BRODY I STUDENT LIFE
Students line up to vote outside Wydown Middle School on Tuesday afterSee VOTING ROADBLOCK, page 3 noon.
Dance Marathon tops $100,000 McCaskill upsets Talent in tight Senate battle BY BEN SALES AND JOSH HANTZ NEWS STAFF In one of the nation’s most-watched Senate raises, Missourians elected Claire McCaskill (D) over incumbent Senator Jim Talent (R). Missourians also passed Amendment 2 furthing stem cell research, turned down Amendment 3, which proposed an additional tax on cigarettes, and passed Proposition B, raising the minimum wage to $6.50 an hour.
McCaskill takes Senate seat in close race At time of press, McCaskill had a projected win with 50 percent of the vote from 98 percent of precincts reporting. During her campaign,
McCaskill spoke about increasing national security, providing more funds for education in Missouri and also campaigned towards reducing the national deficit and setting a balanced budget. McCaskill, who became Missouri State Auditor in 1999, acted as a watchdog for state tax policy. Andrew Rehfeld, an assistant professor of political science at Washington University, sees McCaskill’s victory as an affi rmation of the candidate’s mandate and as an encouragement for her to implement the Democratic platform of progressive policy and change. “The Senate is the place where national policy gets set,” said Rehfeld, who specializes in American Political development. “[The victory] is more in terms of good for
See MCCASKILL, page 3
LIONEL SOBEHART I STUDENT LIFE
Chancellor Wrighton and others get down and boogie at Dance Marathon on Saturday, Nov. 4. The annual fundraiser raised $105,049.59. BY ELIZABETH LEWIS STAFF REPORTER The St. Louis Area Dance Marathon, an annual 12-hour dance event held in the Athletic Complex, raised a record $105,049.59 towards the Children’s Miracle Network of Greater St. Louis last weekend. To the astonishment of everyone involved, this amount trumped the respectable $71,613.61 raised during Dance Marathon last year. The executive board for Dance Marathon took several steps that were different from years past to make the event the most successful yet. “We recruited so many more people. Last year, there were just over 500 people registered, and this year there were 850. We did a much better job getting the word out,” said senior Tammy Shirley, the executive director for Dance Marathon. “There was a lot more
emphasis placed on the cause and what the money would benefit.” To get inspiration and ideas for this year’s marathon, junior Dan Silver, co-chair for dancer relations, explained that the executive board looked at Dance Marathon events at other universities like Indiana University and Penn State, both of which raise hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. From their observations, they learned that they should make students feel more connected to the purpose and the cause behind Dance Marathon. To make students feel this way, the executive board produced flyers with pictures of children and their stories of what they had been through. During info sessions, they showed videos depicting the mission of the Children’s Miracle Network. Another factor contributing to the increased amount was the
Jam-packed Bear sports weekend Bear sports have a weekend in the spotlight—three teams will be hosting NCAA tournament play. Want in on the action? Sports has the basics to get you ready. Sports, Page 4
requirement of everyone to pay a $25 registration fee, which has been a rule that has not always been fully enforced in past years. Finally, organizers pushed an aggressive letter writing campaign which enforced a minimum requirement of writing five letters to donors or raising $150 to gain entrance into the event. To help the dancers achieve these requirements and convince donors to give money, they could create an online profile to help explain to donors why they should participate and what their money would benefit. These efforts resulted in an increased commitment from the dancers. “We had more requirements of the dancers, which led to more dedication,” said Silver. “In years past, people would show up and not know what was going on.” As a direct result of these efforts, 700 of the 850 dancers who
participated raised $70,000. The executive board itself, composed of only 24 members, raised $12,000. The rest of the amount was achieved through bake sales, a date auction, proceeds earned during the Thurtene Carnival in April, proceeds from Ben and Jerry’s, Benefit Week at the Campus Book Store and additional donor contributions. Dance Marathon received money from Student Union to fund the event, as well as a sponsorship from The Coca-Cola Company, food donations from Bon Appétit, student group contributions and $1,000 from the Women’s Society to increase faculty and alumni involvement. As a result, all of the proceeds were able to be donated to the Children’s Miracle Network. Silver noted that the Chil-
See MARATHON, page 2
Gobble, gobble, Bauhaus? Will turkeys be in fashion at this year’s delayed architecture party? A new costume may come into fashion with the chilly weather and festive atmopshere. Forum, Page 6
Information complied by Laura Geggel, Margy Levinson, and Troy Rumans
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