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Raleigh, North Carolina
Partisan voters may face ballot confusion Straight-ticket voters must vote separately for president, judges Chris Allred News Editor
PEGGY BOONE/TECHNICIAN ARCHIVE PHOTO
Presidential candidate Barack Obama addresses a crowd of 3,200 at North Carolina Central University Nov. 1, 2007. Obama discussed a number of hot topics including health care, the war in Iraq and the energy crisis and expressed his frustration with the current administration’s shortcomings.
Obama returns to Raleigh Democratic vice presidential candidate brings campaign back to North Carolina Staff Report Continuing to campaign hard in North Carolina, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will come back to Raleigh Wednesday. The event will be open to the public at the Government Complex at Halifax Mall. Doors open at 10 a.m. with the pre-program beginning at 11:15 a.m. Obama’s wife, Michelle, will be close by, campaigning in Rocky Mount at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rocky Mount Senior High School.
Obama’s Republican rival, presidential candidate John McCain, will be in Fayetteville today at another free, public event. Obama has been drawing large crowds throughout the country with public speeches, with more than 100,000 people attending a rally in Denver, Colo. Sunday. Joe Biden, Obama’s vice presidential running mate, came to Meredith College’s campus in Raleigh last Thursday. About 4,000 people, including students, came to hear his argument for voting for Obama. In the latest composite pollster.com poll, Obama is leading McCain in North Carolina with 49.1 percent to McCain’s 46.9 percent.
North Carolina voters may encounter problems this year with the state’s ballot, which forces straight-ticket voters to vote separately for president and non-partisan judges. “Some people said that’s not made terribly clear to voters,� Chris Ellis, assistant professor of political science, said. Justin Moore, a former Duke University computer scientist, compiled results from the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections that showed an “undervote� in which people that voted neglected to vote for president, and Ellis said it could be a result of the ballot. “Data suggests that to some extent, that is the case,� he said. When filling out the North Carolina ballot, one has the choice to fill a bubble beside their respective party, which will choose all the Democrats or Republicans on the front of the ballot, except for president. Ches McDowell, a sophomore in political science and chair of the College Republicans, said the ballots should not be an issue. “You shouldn’t be voting straight party anyway,� he said. “You should vote based on candidate, not party.� According to the North Carolina Commission for Verified Voting, there were 75,364 undervotes in 2000 and 93,316 in 2004, making up 3.15 percent and 2.57 percent of each year’s vote. Ellis said in a typical election there is a runoff, in which voters cast votes for the candidates of highest prominence, such as president or governor, but ignore down-ballot local candidates. If people do not vote for president because they vote straight party, it could create an inverse runoff situation. Jonathan Friel, a junior in biological sciences, said since he did not vote straight party, the ballot could not have been an issue. “They were telling everybody VOTING continued page 3
Plans to start campus farmers’ market in works Committee members said they want to provide fresh local foods
FARMERS’ MARKET UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University and Wake Forest University each have a farmers’ market on their campuses. The sustainability commission hopes to provide locally grown fruits, vegetables and freshly cut flowers at the market. Eventually, the market could offer jams, jellies and crafts.
Courtney Bolin Staff Writer
The Student Government Sustainability Commission is planning to establish a farmers’ market in the Brickyard by this spring to run once a week. Organizers said they hope to be able to provide local food to students at an affordable price. Eric Ballard, a senior in agricultural communication, said he wants to have local foods available to students and staff members. Ballard said, the committee is planning on having the market open on either Wednesdays or Fridays from 11 a.m. to about 2 p.m.
SOURCE: ERIC BALLARD, SENIOR IN AGRICULTURAL COMMUNICATION
“It will be a big hit, especially for faculty members,� Ballard said. Eric Scholz, a sophomore in engineering, said he believes that the market would be great to have available. “I would definitely buy a lot of fruit,� Scholz said. “Lots of varieties would be nice. It depends on what is in season and can be
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grown locally.� “We are planning to provide The committee wants to pro- local crops from farmers around vide locally grown fruits, veg- Lake Wheeler,� Ballard said. etables and fresh cut flowers at Ballard said the food should be first. Ballard said the commit- affordably-priced and possibly tee hopes to lower than stueventually also dents are used be able to offer to seeing at grojams, jellies and cery stores. crafts. Some stu“I would dents like Ashmostly be inley Thornton, a terested in the sophomore in fruits and vegtextiles, say that etables, but the they really supoccasional jam port the idea. Eric Ballard, senior in or jelly would agricultural communication “I would buy also be nice,� fruit and vegScholz said. etables a nd Ballard said flowers when I a few years ago that an intern- had money available,� Thornship program started a farm- ton said. ers’ market on campus. This Nicole Wanke, a sophomore in ended in part because the cost education, agreed. of transporting the crops from Goldsboro. MARKET continued page 3
“We are planning to provide local crops from farmers around Lake Wheeler.�
CHRIS SANCHEZ/TECHNICIAN ARCHIVE PHOTO
Mingling with the college crowd in front of the Marrakesh Cafe, Erin Philbrook, a sophomore at Wake Tech, joins Taylor Griggs, Zach Buck, and Grace Farmer, a freshman at Wake Tech. Students from the Raleigh area turned out for the first annual Haunted Hillsborough Hike last Halloween.
Hike limits may deter large crowds Haunted Hike could bring restrictive checkpoints on campus roads Chris Allred News Editor
The University is considering restricting access to campus during the Haunted Hillsborough Hike on Halloween, and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Tom Stafford said it would limit the number of outsiders coming to Hillsborough Street. “If you are planning to drive in to this event, it will be very difficult for you to find a place to park,� he said. This could cause problems for students who live off campus who want to go to Hillsborough Street to hike, he said. The University could work with Raleigh police and Campus Police to close down all campus streets, Stafford said, adding checkpoints in which officers will let through only those with N.C. State IDs. Campus Police Chief Tom Younce said they would be working in collaboration with Raleigh Police, and there will be a zero tolerance policy for student violations. “Raleigh has taken a very aggressive stance on this,� he said. Students that commit a violation will be subject to arrest or citation, which will follow students through a campus
POSSIBLE HIKE RESTRICTIONS • The University and Raleigh Police may close streets on campus, with police manning checkpoints to check drivers’ NCSU IDs for passage. • Police are concerned that the event could become unmanageable like the Halloween festivities from Chapel Hill’s Franklin Street last year. • Chapel Hill has cut down its activities, and if students get out of hand, businesses on Hillsborough Street could be forced to close the sale of alcohol later at night. • If a student is caught underage drinking or another infraction, they could be subject to arrest or citation that would lead to further disciplinary actions within the University’s Office of Student Conduct. SOURCES: VICE CHANCELLOR FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS TOM STAFFORD, CAMPUS POLICE CHIEF TOM YOUNCE
appearance ticket in the Office of Student Conduct. Stafford said the University and Raleigh Police are concerned because Franklin Street’s Halloween activities in Chapel Hill are being downgraded this year. Vendors will stop selling alcohol at midnight, and Chapel Hill is looking to keep outsiders from entering the festivities, which drew as many as 80,000 last year. Some students from other schools have already planned to come to the Halloween activities on Hillsborough Street, but Chris HIKE continued page 3
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