ELECTION DAY THE VISTA
Thursday Edition
November 8, 1988 Vol. 87, No. 18
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Editorial
Vote today
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By Rhonda Shalaby Associate Editor Imagine waking up one morning and finding out that voting rights had been taken away. Apparently about one-half of eligible voters would not care, since around 50 percent of Americans don't bother to go to the polls, allowing others to make the decisions for them. Voting in the presidential elections seems to be viewed by many Americans as a duty rather than a priviledge. Many seem to take their right to vote for granted, and are not willing to take a few hours out of their time every four years to participate in the most important election of the nation. Citizens of other countries are giving their lives for the right to elect a president, but many Americans do not seem to even appreciate the fact that they live in a free, democratic country. Yakov Smirnoff, a Soviet-born comedian who recently became a U.S. citizen, said in a recentParade column that he was told that 'in America his voice can be heard. "I was confused," he wrote. "America is such a big country, and I have such a little voice. How will anyone hear me? Then I learned there is one place where everybody's voice can speak volumes, It's the voting booth — a wonderful invention." He went on to say that in the Soviet Union, citizens had nothing to say about who will represent them in government or what the country stands for. "Here in the voting booth,,I control all that. So do you, as long as we do it together," he wrote. Plenty of people root for and favor one candidate over another throughout the campaign, but on election day they suffer from voter apathy, and decide not to go to the polls. If they believe in what one of the candidates stands for, then they should do their part in getting him elected by casting their vote, not just for their own personal sake, but for America's sake. Will the next president of the United States be able to lower the rising $155 billion deficit? And if so, how? What does he plan to do about the spreading drug problem? How much does he plan to spend on defense? How much will he budget for social programs, such as social security? These are among many issues of this campaign that affect every Ameican as well as the future of the U.S. From abortion to gun control, Vice President George Bush and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis have clearly opposing views, making it more so crucial to participate in this election. This generation of college students has been accused of being a "Me" generation, self-centered and selfish. Election '88 is a chance for young people to show they are not worthless citizens, by becoming involved in the election. In addition, the media has been covering the candidates for months now, so being uninformed is inexcusable. There is no excuse for not voting. If eligible voters will not worry about the future of the United States, then who will? ■111■1•1111111110•1=INW
Enrollment starts Spring-graduate students and undergraduate graduating seniors may begin enrolling today at the Enrollment Center in the Administration Building. All other students may begin enrolling Nov. 15. Class schedules for the spring semester were released Friday.
Summer enrollment will begin
March 28 for summer graduate students and undergraduate seniors. All other students may begin enrolling April 4. Enrollment for fall will start April 18 for fall-graduate students and undergraduate seniors. All other students may begin enrolling April 25.
Music theatre students rehearse for the upcoming performance of 'A Chorus Line,' to be held Nov. 18 through 20 in Mitchell Hall Theatre. Please see related story on page 8. (Photo by Chris Rush)
ge, grain affect vote By Linda Jones Special to The Vista What do age and wheat prices have to do with presidential elections in Oklahoma? Plenty, say political science students at Central State University. Oklahomans tend to vote for the incumbent party's candidate if the candidate is older and wheat prices are high, compared to the previous months. "The reverse is also true," said Dr. Randall Jones, professor of political science, who teaches a senior level election forecasting class. "If the incumbent party candidate is younger and the economy is slow, voters choose the other party's candidate." "That's what happened to Jimmy Carter in 1980. There was quite a 13 year age difference between Carter and Nixon, and the vote in Oklahoma went against the incumbent," said Jones.
The class has used a statistical technique called "regression" to predict the presidential vote in Oklahoma using both local and national factors. For instance, using data from the last 10 to 12 presidential elections, Noble county in Oklahoma most often tracks the nation as a whole in percentage of votes. Murray county voting most often mirrors state voting. Another model devised by a student compares Oklahoma voting with other states. "We can, by putting in the numbers for the state of Florida, predict the Oklahoma vote," said Jones. Still another model compares the Gallup Poll and the second quarter economic growth rate. "On a national level, you can predict that the incumbent party candidate will win if he is leading in the Gallup Poll nearest October
1 and when the economy is doing well," said Jones. "We can also compare the big electoral vote states in the West with states in the Eastern time zone to predict those results. For instance, New Hampsire compares to California," said Jones. Class members will test their models election night, tonight. "It has really been a fascinating study, and the students have worked very hard to find the data," said Jones. "On election night it will be a matter of plugging the data into an equation and coming up with the numbers. We hope to be able to predict early in the evening how the state and nation will vote." Students will set up an Election Night Central watch party in the Office of Publications, Cornmunications Building room 104, where they will test their theories.
Regents to discuss tuition By William Philpott Student Writer The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education will hold a public hearing tomorrow at the State Capital Complex to discuss changes in college and university tuition and fees. The regents unanimously approved an almost 45 percent tuition increase July 19. The raise, effective fall semester, was the highest tuition hike in Oklahoma
history. Central State University President Bill Lillard does not feel a tuition increase is needed. "CSU students pay 37.8 percent of the cost of education, as opposed to students from other universities and colleges, who pay around 20 to 22 percent of the cost, Lillard said. If there is an increase, he would like to see it be 10 percent, with equal appropriation funds provid-
ed by the state. The increase is basically a tax, when we don't see similar action from the state, Lillard said. The Student Advisory Board to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education is in favor of a tuition increase, but it must be matched with state appropriation funds, said Jeff Shilling, chairman of the board. If we get the approvel of an inPlease see Regents on page 3.