Western Front - 1989 May 12

              HHHHHHHHHHH
Joe Trofimczok
10491
fill!
i f i l i
m&m
Total ballots cast: 1,440
V.P for External Affairs
5::;:S!i:: Greg Anderton Iiflill i i | i g i | | | | l|
l^i||pisi||lll
l i i i i
l i i i i
l l l l i l
i l l
liill
lill
65.9%
iiiii m
lltiii
l i i i
i i i i m M i l !
l i l i i l
Recomrressiontheuniversfty police with righttocarry
i t e r i i l l l l l l lf
Ml :337i
74.8%
Yes 519
661
44%?
56&
The Western Front
Top AS spot
left undecided
By Gail Skurla
staff reporter
Balloters booted Burger King-crowned
candidates and bicycle traf­fic
regulations this week in the Asso­ciated
Students election, in which
16.6 percent of Western's student
population voted.
A run-off election, between AS
Presidential candidates Kent Thoelke
and Mike Petrie, will be Tuesday,
May 16. Thoelke drew 36.1 percent
of the votes and Petrie received'33^7'
percent. AS "King" candidate Mar­tin
Walz III closely followed with
30.1 percent.
Ericka Jackson's 60.7-percent win
in the three-candidate race for vice
president of academic affairs was the
only landslide victory.
A substantial 74.8 percent of the
voters favored recommissioning and
arming the campus security officers.
Tammy Fleming, current AS presi­dent,
said the issue now will become
a top priority for the AS Board.
"It's clearly what the students
want," she noted. "We are going to
present it to the (Board of) Trustees
and say 'Look, we want some action
out of this.'"
Purchasing land for recreational
use and changing the presidential
appointment process also were fa­vored
by voters.
Balloters said thumbs-down to
regulating bicycle traffic, raising the
health sendee fee from $9 to $ 15 and
changing the title of AS secretary/
treasurer to vice president for finan­cial
maintenance and development.
A total of 1,440 voters hit the
polls this year, compared with last
year's 1,287, said Brent Arndt, elec­tion
committee chairman. Currently,
8,647 full- and part-time students are
enrolled at Western.
"It's hard to peg what's respon­sible
for voter turn-out," Arndt said.
He noted the numbers increased but
only slightly. He cited the Feudal
Party, the referendum issues and
"chance" as possible factors.
"It (the election) all went very
well — not to mention it was inter­esting,"
Arndt added.
See Results on page 3
^elkeand Mike Petrie wereallsmilesWedr
Michael J. Lehnert/The Weston Front
AS candidate party tense
By Jill Nelson
staff reporter
Jammin' foot stomping and regal robes
helped to make this year's Associated Stu­dents
election one to remember.
All the candidates were invited Wed­nesday
night to an election party hosted by
Theresa Bertrand, winner of vice president
for activities. Tammy Fleming, this year's
AS president, was there, and so were the
current opposing candidates for that job,
Kent Thoelke and Mike Petrie.
Before the election returns came in,
Leslie Jensen, who ran against Kate Lynch
for vice president for Residence Life, said,
"I know it's going to be really, really close.
It could go either way, so I'm ready for
either way. I'd like to know so I can get on
with my life."
Thoelke, when asked how he was felt
about waiting, answered simply, "Nerv­ous."
Petrie had the same comment, "Nerv­ous,
of course."
The party invitation said the festivities
would start at 7:30 p.m., and by 9:00 p.m.,
every time the phone rang, the party of
about 15 fell silent to hear if it was election
results.
At 9:08 p.m. Jensen said, "Now I'm
really getting nervous."
Talk turned to how much each candi­date
was allowed to spend on their cam­paigns
and how much they actually did
spend. The limit was $80. Petrie said he
spent $79, Thoelke said he spent $58. The
third presidential candidate, Martin Walz
HI, who was questioned later, said under
$20.
See Party on page 3
Voters leave booths
with feudal remarks
By Don Hunger
campus government editor
The Feudal Party was on supporters' and
opponents' minds as students went to the polls
in this week's Associated Students election.
An informal exit poll, conducted by the
Front, found that students voted either because
they believed in the Feudal Party's oligarchy or
because they were adamantly opposed to it.
They were also drawn to the polls because of
referendums on bicycle regulation and arming
campus security officers.
Voting booth attendant Cheryl Hedlund
said the polls received average voter turn-out
—minimal. The lack of studentparticipation is
a self-fulfilling prophecy, she said. Students do
not vote because they know none of their peers
will.
Tim McHugh, a fifth-year education stu­dent,
said he thought the proposal to ban bi­cycles
and arm campus security officers was a
contradiction.
"There is no reason for campus security to
have guns. It is facetious that a campus cop
might shoot a bicyclist riding through cam­pus,"
McHugh said.
Computer science major Chris Weaver said
he voted to arm campus security because he
comes from a violent neighborhood in lower
Yakima Valley where everyone "has weapons.
"You don't go out of your house without
arming yourself," he said.
Support for the Feudal Party ranged from
belief that they have an underlying commit-
See Exit poll on page 3
FRIDAY
WEATHER: Partly
sunny today. Chance of
rain over weekend.
RUN-OFF ELECTION: AS presi­dential
candidates Mike Petrie and
Kent Thoelke battle it out Tues­day.
TRACK ACTION
Viking tracksters compete
in NAIA this weekend
page 4