Western Front - 1988 November 1

              The Western Front
VOL. 80, NO. 52 WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, BELLINGHAM, WA TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1,1988
Students favor Dukakis in survey
Democrat called
'lesser of two evils'
By Don Hunger and Brenda Dow
of The Western Front
Western students favor Michael Dukakis
for president by a ratio of almost two to one,
according to a random political issue survey
conducted by the Front.
Of 372 respondents, males selected Dukakis
by 44.1 percent compared with 34.9 percent for
Bush and 17.8 percent undecided. Females
selected Dukakis by 51.9 percent compared
with 26 percent for Bush and 19.7 percent
undecided.
The survey was conducted by the Front
staff the week of Oct. 10 through 14. All
departments were contacted and 16 allowed a
class to be surveyed. The courses were selected
with no set criteria for their participation.
The survey questioned students regarding
major issues in the presidential race, including
economics, environment, drug laws, nuclear
war, military spending and candidate prefer­ence.
Eighteen percent of the 211 female respon­dents
were not registered to vote. Among 156
males, 9 percent were not registered. Five people
did not respond.
One hundred forty-nine students declared
no party affiliation. Of the remaining regis­tered
voters, males were evenly split between
parties, while females were registered 62 per­cent
as Democrat and 38 percent as Republi­cans.
Regardless of candidate choice, many cited
moral issues, values and economics as key
reasons for their selection.
When asked why one candidate was se­lected
over the other, a Dukakis supporter said,
"He is the lesser of two evils."
Other reasoning mentioned was "lack of
morals in the republican party."
A Bush advocate liked the vice president
because of "moral issues and values."
One respondent based her decision for
Bush on "gut feeling."
In comparison, a recent Wall Street Journal-
NBC poll Friday showed Bush at a 51 percent to
Democrat or Republican?
Don't care 5
lillllii
Compiled by Don Hunger and Brenda Dow of The Western Front llilllli
42 percent lead over Dukakis. This is down from
a 17 percent gap after the debate two weeks ago.
Employment and national defense
Students were asked which candidate would
provide jobs for college graduates. Forty-three
percent said they did not know, 25.8 percent
chose Dukakis and 20.5 percent chose Bush. It
did not matter to 10.7 percent.
Students were equally divided between
spending for "Star Wars" and conventional
weapons.
Seventy-six percent said they did not feel
the United States is closer to nuclear war than
it was 8 years ago.
Drug use and drug-related penalties
Eighty-six percent of the respondents indi­cated
they did not use illegal drugs. Only 1.7
percent use illegal drugs more than five times
a week.
About 53 percent said customs officials
should impound a vehicle when traces of drugs
are found in cars crossing the border.
When asked if the death penalty should be
imposed on drug dealers involved in drug-related
homicides, 62.1 percent supported said
yes, while 37.9 percent opposed it.
Environmental protection
Forty-two percent believed the Dukakis
administration would be stronger on environ­mental
protection. Thirty-seven percent did
Fourty-four percent believed the Dukakis
administration would be stronger on environ-m
mental protection. Thirty-seven percent did not
know and 17 percent chose Bush. Two percent
did not care.
By 44 percent to 15 percent, students from
Western Washington believe Dukakis will protect
the environment better than Bush. Those from
Eastern Washington were more evenly divided
with 38 percent for Dukakis and 24 percent for
Bush. The remaining 38 percent said they did
notknow. Of the students raised out of state, 48
percent said Dukakis would be stronger on
environmental issues, compared with 16 per­cent
for Bush.
A total of 372 valid surveys were collected.
Results were tabulated by Data Processing and
Evelyn Albrecht of the computer center. The
margin of error is plus or minus 5.2 percent.
KUGS to switch on stereo In December
By Sarita Christensen
of The Western Front
KUGS-FM is tuning into listen­ers'
need for better sound.
Western's 100-watt campus ra­dio
station, will switch from mono
sound to stereo in December. Kevin
Majkut, assistant director of the Viking
Union, listed a few of the benefits of
stereo.
"Some music sounds better in
stereo," he said. "Most people have
stereo receivers and a lot of people
have digital decks in their cars."
Some listeners have the "little
red light syndrome" when tuning in
to a station, he said. This means that
if the red light stereo indicator does
not flash, most people will not stop to
listen.
He estimated installation and
testing of the system will occur dur­ing
winter break. S ome equipment is
still on order and installation can be
complicated and time-consuming, he
added.
Dave Black, media engineer, said
receiving the parts should hot cause
setbacks.
"The rest of the technical equip­ment
should be coming in any time,"
he said.
Staff members at the station are
enthusiastic about conversion to ste­reo
transmission.
Bruce Sarjeant, co-disk jockey
of "Criteria-Cafeteria," said, "It should
really improve the sound quality,
especially with classical music."
The project will cost about $10,000
and is paid for through the Housing
and Dining Fund, he said.
The station moved its transmit­ter
from the roof of Ridge way Kappa
to Sehome Hill last May and erected
a new antenna in an effort to improve
reception.
"Our reception increased by about
44 percent after the transmitter was
moved and the antenna was added,"
Majkut said.
Now listeners as far as .Port
Townsend, Anacortes and Vancou­ver,
B.C., are able to receive the
signal.
The antenna will transmit hori­zontal
as well as vertical waves and
will improve reception in previously
hard to reach places such as the Lake
Whatcom and Skagit Valley areas.
With the addition of stereo, re­ception
is lowered greatly. Majkut
pointed out that the addition of stereo
will likely reduce the overall listen­ing
area by 40 percent, but Belling-ham
and outlying areas in the county
should continue to receive the signal.
Black said reception in cars and
dorm rooms will improve. Kevin Majkut