M O N D AY NOV. 1, 2004 Vol. 126, No. 26
T-storms 65° / 49° w w w. s t u d l i f e . c o m
ELECTION COUNTDOWN
1 80
DAY UNTIL ELECTION DAY DAYS UNTIL THE INAUGURATION
STUDENT LIFE T H E I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R O F WA S H I N G T O N U N I V E R S I T Y I N S T. L O U I S S I N C E 1 8 7 8
Students react to MO’s lost “swing” n Polls and analysts suggest a Re-
publican leaning; students hold their votes mean more in MO By David Tabor
PRESIDENTIAL RACE: WHO HAS THE EDGE?
49% 48%
BUSHCHENEY KERRYEDWARDS
Source: ABC News daily tracking poll of likely voters, taken Oct. 27-30; see abcnews.com.
INSIDE
Contributing Editor Washington University students from out-of-state faced a choice between registering in Missouri or at home for this year’s presidential election—and those who chose Missouri in hopes of voting in a swing state are now reevaluating their situation as the state begins to lean Republican. Many national analysts no longer consider Missouri a swing state, and the campaigns of both President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry have focused attention elsewhere in the fi nal weeks of the presidential race. Sophomore Veshal Malhotra explained that while he registered in Missouri instead of his home state Oklahoma largely for the chance to vote in a swing state, recent developments have not bothered him. “It’s okay, because I know my vote will make more of a difference here,” said Malhotra, noting that Missouri’s race will
See SWING, page 3
ELLEN LO | STUDENT LIFE
Rash of breakins continues By Sarah Kliff News Editor
After waiting in line for 2 hours to vote, have some fun: check out Arbiter Elegantarium’s guide to Election Day parties in Scene.
PAGE 10
P. Diddy says, “Vote or Die.” Justin Ward says in Forum today, “Vote or be Screwed.” Who has the better slogan?
PAGE 6
What do men in bikini tops and raising money for charity have in common? Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash featured both this weekend.
PAGE 9
INDEX News Sports Forum Classifieds Scene
1 4 5 8 10
OLIVER HULLAND | STUDENT LIFE
Freshmen Yin Zheng and Taidghin O’Brien prepare in their dorms to make the treck to Bauhaus. The annual Architecture school dance party continues to draw students from across all classes.
Dance Marathon less than a week away thanks to date change By Lissy Reiman Contributing Reporter Dance Marathon, an annual 12-hour fundraiser for St. Louis-area children’s hospitals, will be held this Saturday instead of in the spring, as it had been in previous years. The date-change puts the fundraiser in confl ict with the popular Diwali dance festival presented by Ashoka, Washington University’s Indian cultural group. Representatives from each organization have been working together to address the situation. Dance Marathon chair Ilana Shor said that the change had been discussed for the past two or three years and was not taken lightly. She believes that by changing the date, the market for dancers would change; freshman floors would be more encouraged to participate together. “There is nothing else more worth your time and energy than Dance Marathon, and it will be a great way to start off the year,” Shor said. After the decision to move the show to the fall had been made, Dance Marathon’s exact date was determined by the availability of the Athletic Complex. While Ashoka did not know of the confl ict initially, members of the Dance Marathon executive board contacted Ashoka and explained that the reasons for the move were legitimate. Since learning of the confl ict, both sides have taken measures to be flexible and to cooperate with each other. Dance Marathon has allowed its dancers to purchase tickets for the Friday night or Saturday morning productions of Diwali, while Ashoka
STUDENT LIFE
has discounted the price of tickets to the event from $5 to $3 for people who will be viewing or dancing in Dance Marathon. Ashoka president Harsh Agarwal suggested that Diwali may have been able to attract most of the performers interested in working on both festivals but able to commit to only one. “I’m biased, but I think it took a wider blow for Dance Marathon. It wasn’t as widely publicized in the beginning, and a number of people had already committed to participate in Diwali,” said Agarwal. Some students also felt the date change would work against Dance Marathon. “Dance Marathon was something to look forward to in the spring time; it got a lot more hype [in previous years] than it did this year,” said senior Jess Long. However, Dance Marathon is expecting to boast even more dancers than in previous years—three more area high schools will be participating. Some 400 performers are expected to be available to lead the crowd. Dance Marathon also plans to accept donations after the event, a measure not taken in previous years. Representatives hope that the move will help to offset any potential downturn in fundraising owing to the Diwali confl ict. Although dates for Diwali are set for the next three years, both sides hope the overlap of the two events will not be repeated.
One Brookings Drive #1039 #42 Women’s Building St. Louis, MO 63130
The rash of car break-ins on campus continued last week as two additional instances of vehicle-related theft occurred Thursday night in the parking lot east of Brookings Hall. Thursday’s incidents bring the total number of break-ins last month to 14. WUPD has not ruled out the possibility that these break-ins could be related to the incidents that occurred in the past week as well as the suspect arrested for one of those break-ins. WUPD is continuing to investigate both of the Thursday night break-ins as individual cases, but are also leaving open the possibility that they could be part of a larger trend. “We’re continuing to do some stake-outs and try to narrow down some things,” said WUPD Chief Don Strom. “We’re stepping up patrols in those areas and trying a couple of other things. We’re encouraging people to be especially attentive to any suspicious activity.” The Thursday night break-ins both involved stolen car stereos. Both cases were reported between 8 and 9 p.m. Strom noted that neither of these cars was particularly distinctive as a “good” break-in site—in other words, there was nothing about the cars that should have been particularly attractive to thieves. WUPD arrested a suspect Wednesday morning who, according to Strom, they “certainly have reason to believe that he was involved in the break-ins” that occurred earlier in the week. The suspect’s lack of cooperation has impeded police investigations into the thefts. Strom emphasized that the role of the community surveillance was extremely important in preventing these crimes. “Students, faculty, staff are all important,” said Strom. “This is part of a problem that the entire region is struggling with. It’s just a matter of locking vehicles and keeping valuables out of sight so it doesn’t make it a tempting break-in site. It’s important that the entire community is attentive to people in parking lot that don’t seem to belong. Be aware of the instinctive feeling that you get that the person is out of place.” WUPD also posted a crime alert last Tuesday, warning the University community about the vehicle-related thefts. Since many of the thefts have involved car stereos, Strom has recommended that students try to “disguise or cover up” their stereos by removing the face plates when parked, especially with expensive systems. WUPD has not recovered any of the items stolen on Thursday night.
news@studlife.com
DAVID HARTSTEIN | STUDENT LIFE
news@studlife.com Newsroom: (314) 935-5995 Advertising: (314) 935-6713 Fax: (314) 935-5938
Cars parked on campus have recently been subjected to a rash of breakins. Editor: editor@studlife.com News: news@studlife.com Calendar: calendar@studlife.com
Please Recycle