Univ. employment stopped cold

By Kate SnyderReporter

Two weeks ago, the University issued a hiring freeze.

Faculty positions and student hourly positions are exempted, so the only people affected by the freeze are classified staff and administrative staff. Classified staff includes anyone who’s not a stu-dent, but is paid by the hour, such as secretaries, grounds workers and those working in facilities.

“Students will largely not feel the impact,” Vice Provost Mark Gromko said.

He also said this is not cause for alarm, and the freeze is in response to state budgetary issues.

According to a memo from President Cartwright circulated through the University communi-ty, the state’s budget was reduced by $733 million in January 2008,

and was reduced again by $540 million in September 2008. The University’s operating budget was reduced by 4.75 percent, which amounted to slightly more than $250,000.

About 30 percent of the University’s finances come from state support. The money saved from the freeze would be used to make up for the cuts at the state level.

“Salary dollars from non-faculty, open positions affected by this hir-ing freeze would be swept centrally and used to offset other operating expense shortfalls throughout the year,” according to the memo.

Additionally, if a department is in the process of filling an empty classified staff position, they could go through the provost office for permission to continue the hiring process.

Also according to the memo,

faculty have their own hiring pro-cess, which is largely why they are exempt from the freeze.

Requests can also be made for positions considered “critical to the operation of an office or department,” as stated in a FAQ on the human resources home page.

Rebecca Ferguson, the Assistant Vice President of Human

Hiring freeze, a response to fund deficit

Cell ban included on May balllot

By Courtney FlynnReporter

At last night’s city council meeting, Ordinance 7830 was passed with a 5-2 vote to put the driving with a cell phone issue on the ballot.

Bowling Green residents will now be able to decide whether or not they think driving while talking on a cell phone should be considered a primary offense, which means drivers talking on a cell phone could be pulled over and issued a ticket for that sole purpose.

Although the ordinance was passed, it did not get finalized with-out a lively discussion.

Bowling Green resident Bill Freeman made his stance on the issue clear.

He said only a few weeks ago he saw three children almost get hit by a distracted driver. If the driver were on a cell phone, those children could have been hit. Freeman urged the council to put the issue on the ballot, hoping it will pass as a law.

“I ask you to search your con-science and put the issue on the ballot for Bowling Green to decide,” he said.

Another Bowling Green resi-dent, Norm Heineman, disagreed

with Freeman’s stance, saying the ballot should be for issues of great importance, like taxes, and the issue should be decided by council mem-bers.

City council member at-large Terry Dunn had a similar stance to Heineman.

“I don’t agree with putting this issue on the ballot for a number of reasons,” Dunn said. “I feel this is a bad precedent for us on ordi-nances in general... This law sets new ground for Bowling Green and Ohio.”

Dunn said he would be in a favor of a law that council could adopt and adapt as time goes by.

Council member at-large Robert McComber disagreed with Dunn.

“I thought a lot of points Terry

Duck hunters gather to preserve wetland habitat for fowl By Ira Sairs

Reporter

North American duck hunters have united in protection of the same waterfowl they pursue.

Ducks Unlimited, a national conservation group, is dedicated to preserving North America’s wetland habitats for the benefit of waterfowl.

Frank Daniel Rzicznek, an instructor in the University’s General Studies Writing Program and potential faculty advisor for the BGSU chapter of Ducks Unlimited, explains the group is a conservation-minded

organization whose goal is to raise money for the awareness of wetlands preservation. The wetlands provide a habitat for waterfowl to breed and to exist.

Rzicznek said the group is for anyone with an interest in the outdoors and environmental preservation.

Junior Lawrence Coogan, an Environmental Health major, is trying to organize a chap-ter of Ducks Unlimited here in BG. Coogan contacted Ducks Unlimited, who sent a represen-tative to meet with him.

Although the group is still in its earliest stages and is not offi-

cially a campus organization yet, Coogan and others are deter-mined to get the BG chapter started.

“We had 20 people and few fac-ulty members show up to our first meeting,” Coogan said.

Coogan thinks there is defi-nitely room for a wetlands habi-tat group here in BG.

Rzicznek also said there is need for a BG chapter that can provide an outlet for students who may have been involved in similar organizations before

PHOTO FROM DUCKSUNLIMITED.ORG

DUCKS: Ducks Unlimited, a conservation conscience group, works to protect waterfowls.

STATE BUDGET CUTSJANUARY 2008:$733 million

SEPTEMBER 2008: $540 million

Source: University interim president memo

See FREEZE | Page 2

See DUCKS | Page 2

“I feel this is a bad precedent for us on ordinances in general ...”

Terry Dunn | Council member at-large

By Elizabeth HartmanReporter

A voter registration campaign headed by the Undergraduate Student Government registered a record-setting 4,500 stu-dents in Wood County since the summer months.

During the course of the summer and fall semester, USG headed a campaign with Graduate Student Senate, College Democrats, College Republicans and Progressive Future, among others, to register as many students as possible in Wood County.

Deputy Director of Wood County Board of Elections Debbie Hazard said, “Although the Board of Elections is not active in voter reg-istration drives, special interest groups are very active.”

Board of Elections supplies infor-mation through press releases, its Web site and office resources, she said.

Hazard’s office supplied USG with all the information needed to register voters.

“The state-wide voter registration goal was to register 20,000 students, but it was well surpassed and Bowling Green registered over 4,500 students,” said USG President John Waynick.

The campaign targeted students through numerous strategies. During the summer, USG’s campaigning efforts resulted in 1,000 student registrations. This segued into their fall semester’s efforts including sending all on-campus students and 3,200 off-campus students voting information. Forty-five classroom

By Kevin MorrisseyReporter

Today many University students will cast their votes for the next U.S. President, though many Americans do not know how the president is actually selected.

“I don’t think that many people actu-ally know what the electoral college

does,”

said Chris Dawson, freshman.In fact, the official votes for McCain

or Obama will be cast by a group of vot-ers selected by the Secretary of State in December.

Today voters will be selecting mem-bers of the Electoral College in the gen-eral election.

Once it is determined who gets the most votes, one of two separate slates of electors are chosen, said Jeffrey Peake, associate professor of political sci-ence. If McCain wins Ohio a group of Republicans will be the members of

the electoral college and vice versa if Obama wins.

Each political party has a sepa-rate group of loyal party members ready to cast their vote, Peake said. These voters can hold offices, hold party positions or be large sup-porters of their party.

He said the Electoral College also makes it possible for the winner of the general election to lose the popular vote.This has happened three times in

history, according to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, in 1824, 1872 and 2000.

Go out and vote!

USG registers record-breaking number of voters, ready for presidential election

Not just the popular vote: a student’s guide to the Electoral College

See CITY | Page 2

It’s your constitutional right.Go to www.sos.state.oh.us to find your voter location.

Gearing up for the big dayTHE BG NEWS ESTABLISHED 1920

A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community

See USG | Page 2

See COLLEGE | Page 2

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JEFF HOUNSHEL ORIGINAL UNION PHOTO BY BEN LOHMAN

THE BG NEWS

TuesdayNovember 4, 2008

Volume 103, Issue 52WWW.BGNEWS.COM

CAMP

US

What can your minor do for you?It turns out a minor in English can lend itself to a lot of versatility in masters and Ph.D. fields | Page 3

ODD

NEW

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Making it right,61 years laterA woman recently found a book sheborrowed from her high school library in 1947 and returned it, along with a check to pay for late fees| Page 12

SPOR

TS

Lasik sales going downThe number ofcorrective eye surgeriesperformed falls as people begin having to focus on necessities instead | Page 9

BG Soccer goes to MAC TourneyThe women’s team beat out WMU and are to face Toledo on Friday in the semifinals, while the men’s team face off against Detroit today | Page 7

PEOP

LE O

N TH

E STR

EET

MELISSA BARBERSophomore, VCT

Who do you want to win the election?

“Obama.” | Page 4

WEA

THER

TODAYSunnyHigh: 72, Low: 43

TOMORROWSunnyHigh: 71, Low: 43

Shooter held without bondFrederick Davis, the man charged for the murders of twoclergymen, appeared in court and will have a preliminary hearing on Nov. 12 | Page 11

STAT

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FORU

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It is your civic duty to vote!Columnist Lori Weberasks students at the University to fulfill their civic responsibility this election by voting,writing that each vote impacts the outcome| Page 4

VISIT BGNEWS.COM: NEWS, SPORTS, UPDATES, MULTIMEDIA AND FORUMS FOR YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE

Registration begins for:Graduate Students - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - October 20Non-Degree Graduate Students - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - October 22Seniors - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - October 28Juniors - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - November 4Sophomores - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - November 12Freshmen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - November 18Guest Students - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - November 24

Register using My.BGSU.eduTo find your exact registration day and time,

go to the Office of Registration and Records website at

www.bgsu.edu/offices/registrar

Don’t miss out! See your advisor now!Pre-Major Advising and UPAS 101 University Hall 372-8943

Arts & Sciences 205 Administration Building 372-2015

Business Administration 371 Business Administration Building 372-2747

Education & Human Development 365 Education Building 372-7372

Health & Human Services 102 Health Center 372-8242

Musical Arts 1031 Moore Musical Arts Building 372-2181

Technology 102 Technology Building 372-7581

Firelands 101 West Building 372-0676

110 Administration BuildingRegistration Hotline 419-372-4444

2009

For information:

419-627-2388

Summer Season ‘09Auditions &

Technical Interviews

For information:

419-627-2388

Semester Leases

GREENBRIAR, INC.419-352-0717

445 E. WOOSTERwww.greenbriarrentals.com

ATTENTION BG!SEMESTER LEASES

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ATTENTION BG!

As a result of the way the elec-tion is set up, the campaigning process is run differently from state to state. Because swing states are up for grabs, can-didates reach out to voters in these states more so than states traditionally aligned with one party.

Swing states have more influ-ence than other states, Peake said. This ultimately causes the interests of the swing states to take more precedence than the issues of the non-swing states.

Peake gave the example of Ohio and corn production.

Since Ohio produces a lot of corn used to make ethanol, it is a more important issue to the candidates.

“With the way the Electoral College is set up, there are real-ly 50 separate elections on elec-tion day. Each state is voting for which candidate their state will endorse,” said Jake Horowitz, an organizer with Progressive Future, which is a nonpartisan group on campus urging stu-dents to vote.

Horowitz thinks the presi-dential election process should get rid of the middle man.

“I don’t like the Electoral College. I feel it is not necessary and can be done away with,” Horowitz said.

presentations were held, as well as canvassing on campus and registration at union tables for two weeks.

“The class presentation was the most successful strategy because the speaker could engage with students effectively and then immediately present them regis-tration,” Waynick said.

Senior Nick Matthews was aware of USG’s efforts and con-tributed in voter registration efforts through his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.’s voter drive “Voteless People are Hopeless People.”

Everyone he knows has reg-istered to vote and many have already done so.

“This is a groundbreaking election and if I did not think my vote would count, I would not have put as much energy into encouraging others to vote,” Matthews said.

Besides registering students, Waynick explained a third of USG’s registration campaign

energy went to informing out-of-county students that they are able to register and vote in Wood County. Many students, includ-ing senior Ron Henderson, did not know that was a possibility until recently.

Although Henderson already voted absentee, he said he would have registered in Wood county if he had known.

Sophomore Ashley Watson, a Chicago native, learned she could register in Wood county through various campus orga-nizations.

“Ohio is a swing state and I hope that extra votes from stu-dents from other states can help the vote swing more in a certain direction,” she said.

Waynick feels that students’ votes in this area of the state are especially important after all the major election-related events on campus recently.

“It’s evidential with all the political attention our corner of the state has received — from ABC’s Charlie Gibson’s student interview, to Sarah Palin’s and Joe Biden’s last minute visits,” Waynick said.

Resources, explained that custo-dial positions would be con-sidered critical to residence life, but other positions might not be so clear cut.

“Can you do without an aca-demic advisor?” she said.

This year’s freeze is similar to the freeze the University imple-mented last year. But last year’s

freeze did not exclude faculty. It was implemented last fall and lasted into the spring.

According to the FAQ, this year’s freeze will last at least until January 2009, but Ferguson thinks it will last longer.

The economy probably won’t be in good shape by then, she said.

“It’s a bigger picture to be look-ing at the national economy and state economy,” Ferguson said.

[Dunn] made were irrelevant,” McComber said. “We’re putting it on the ballot for residents to decide if it’s a good law.”

He said whether or not the council members think this is a good law is one thing, but it should be on the ballot for all of the public to vote.

Larry Sorrells, council member at-large, agreed that it shouldn’t matter whether or not the council members were in favor. He is more worried about whether or not put-ting this issue on the ballot is a bad precedent. Sorrells understands it is not safe to drive while on a cell phone, but is concerned if it is a good move for the community.

Although he has reservations on the issue and its affect on the com-munity, he still said the ultimate decision remains in the hands of Bowling Green residents.

“If the public decides this is what they want, then so be it,” Sorrels said.

McComber said he has knocked on about 300 doors and about 80 percent of the residents he talked to were in favor of the ordinance and the law.

Council President Megan Newlove said she is still unsure on what the community wants, which is why in the end she voted to leave the issue in the Bowling Green residents’ hands.

“If we’re going to pass a law like this, it’d be more appropriate for the citizens to decide,” Newlove said.

coming to college. University student David

Brown, who is also involved in getting the BG chapter organized and was involved in the chapter in his home-town, thinks every University should have a chapter for peo-

ple who have an interest in hunting, waterfowl or just the outdoors in general.

One of the group’s first goals is to hold events such as raffles or dinner banquets to raise money and aware-ness for the maintaining of wetlands.

The group’s second meeting will be on Wednesday, Nov. 12 in Olscamp 205.

COLLEGE From Page 1

USG From Page 1

THURSDAY, OCT. 30 1:59 P.M.Complaintants reported somebody took their purses from their rooms while they were in the bathroom in Rodgers.

5:31 P.M.Complaintant reported somebody stole his laptop from his room in McDonald.

FRIDAY, OCT. 319:38 P.M.Scott Weaver of Bradner, Ohio, was cited for open container after police saw him carrying a can of beer on Troup Street.

10:18 P.M.Three male subjects were seen run-ning around in Rodgers with ski masks on and shooting an air soft gun.

10:55 P.M.Angelica Capozziello, 19, of Genoa, Ohio, was cited for prohibited acts after using someone else’s identifica-tion in Uptown/ Downtown Bar.

11:44 P.M.Reuben Easler of Toledo was cited for no operator’s license and speed. Easler was taken into custody on a warrant for failure to appear on a traf-fic violation.

SATURDAY, NOV. 112:20 A.M.Caitlyn Burr Brunjes, 20, of Bowling Green, was arrested for underage possession and open container after she was observed carrying an open can of Bud Light.

1:04 A.M.Monica Sanden of Deerfield, Ill., and Samantha Gaitron of Solon, Ohio, were cited for underage under the influence and for stealing a bike.

1:29 A.M.Ryan Steeves, 21, of Youngstown, Ohio, was arrested for disorderly con-duct after he was witnessed urinating in the front yard of a residence on Clough Street.

1:44 A.M.Adam Forkapa, 20, of Perrysburg, was arrested for underage possession and open container after he was observed carrying an open bottle of Bud Light.

1:51 A.M.Robert Teachott, 20, of Bowling Green, was arrested for underage

drinking after his roommate reported he was out of control and threatening to fight him.

2 A.M.Benjamin Wagner of Medina, Ohio, was cited for underage under the influence.

2:22 A.M.Mwai Kinywa, 19, of Bowling Green, was arrested for disorderly conduct after he was witnessed urinating as he was walking in an alleyway.

2:27 A.M.Kenneth Payne, 22, of Perry, Ohio, was arrested for criminal trespass after he was found lying in a driveway on North Main Street.

2:40 A.M.Alexandra Bender, 21, of Bowling Green, was arrested for open con-tainer and criminal trespass after she attempted to enter the front door of an unknown house with a half-full bottle of wine.

3:05 A.M.Whitney Goings, 20, of Bowling Green, was arrested for inducing panic after repeatedly stating she was going to harm herself.

8:33 P.M.Ricky Smallwood of Elyria, Ohio, and Thomas Beifuss of Mentor, Ohio, were cited for underage under the influence and open container in a motor vehicle.

SUNDAY, NOV. 212:53 P.M.Complainant reported a broken win-dow in University Hall.

MONDAY, NOV. 31:44 A.M.Steven Price was cited for underage drinking and prohibited acts after attempting to enter Downtown Bar with fake identification.

2:05 A.M.Clint Werling, 20, of Defiance, Ohio, was arrested for underage drinking after he was witnessed falling over on East Wooster Street.

BLOTTER

CORRECTIONPOLICY We want to correct all factual errors. If you think an error has been made, call The BG News at 419-372-6966.

CITY From Page 1

FREEZE From Page 1

DUCKS From Page 1

By Herbert A. SampleThe Associated Press

HONOLULU — Barack Obama’s grandmother, whose personality and bearing shaped much of the life of the Democratic presiden-tial contender, has died, Obama announced yesterday, one day before the election. Madelyn Payne Dunham was 86.

Obama announced the news from the campaign trail in Charlotte, N.C. The joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said Dunham died peacefully late Sunday night after a battle with cancer.

They said: “She was the cor-nerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accom-plishment, strength, and humil-ity. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances.”

Obama learned of her death yesterday morning while he was campaigning in Jacksonville, Fla. He planned to go ahead with campaign appearances. The family said a private ceremony would be held later.

Republican John McCain issued condolences to his oppo-nent. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to them as they remember and celebrate the life of someone who had such a profound impact in their lives,” the statement by John and Cindy McCain said.

Last month, Obama took

a break from campaigning and flew to Hawaii to be with Dunham as her health declined.

Obama said the decision to go to Hawaii was easy to make, telling CBS that he “got there too late” when his mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995 at 53, and wanted to make sure “that I don’t make the same mistake twice.”

Outside the apartment build-ing where Dunham died, report-ers and TV cameras lined the sidewalk as two police officers were posted near the elevator. Signs hanging in the apartment lobby warned the public to keep out.

Longtime family friend Georgia McCauley visited the 10th-floor apartment where Obama had lived with his grand-parent.

“So many of us were hoping and praying that his grandmoth-er would have the opportunity to witness her grandson become our next president,” said state Rep. Marcus Oshiro, an Obama supporter. “What a bittersweet victory it will be for him. Wow.”

Obama’s grandmother dies days before election

“She was a person who encouraged and

allowed us to take chances.”

Obama and family

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2 Tuesday, November 4, 2008 WWW.BGNEWS.COM

By Richard ChandlerReporter

Some University students are opt-ing for a minor in English for its versatility in complementing their major.

The English minor at the University is divided into four separate programs, including English, Scientific and Technical Communication, Creative Writing and Linguistics, said Kristine Blair, University English depart-ment chair.

The variety offered by the dif-ferent disciplines of English at the University provides students with “lots of traditional choices and lots of non-traditional choices,” Blair said.

Familiar choices for those who study English include teaching, editing and writing.

While these fields are still popular among English minors, other fields students are entering include market-ing, public relations, law, jour-nalism, paralegal work, inter-preting, teaching abroad and publishing, Blair said.

She also mentions that many students minoring in English, particularly those interested in teaching, choose “to go on to Masters and P.H.D. programs.”

Amanda Sampson, an Integrated Language Arts major who is minoring in English, is an example of the professional versatility offered by studying English.

“I chose language arts because I want to be able to teach students to have the same enthusiasm for language as I do,” Sampson said.

Her goal after completing her education is to teach middle school English and write chil-dren’s literature.

“In a tough economy, students want to be employed,” Blair said.

She stresses that the relation-

CAMPUSWWW.BGNEWS.COM Tuesday, November 4, 2008 3

FORGET TO VOTE ABSENTEE BACK HOME?

You can still legally vote, as long as you are registered

anywhere in the State of Ohio!

★ Find the polling location for your current BG residence by:Calling the Wood County Board of Elections:

419-354-9120or

Visiting the Secretary of State’s Website:http://www.sos.state.oh.us

★ Go to the polling location and request a Provisional Ballot

★ The polls are open from 6:30am - 7:30pm on Tuesday, November 4th

★ ★

Paid for by the Wood County Democratic Party, Andy Newlove Treasurer, 455 S. Main, Bowling Green, Oh 43402

CAMPUSBRIEFStudent charged with sexual imposition

University student Paul Turner has been charged with sexual imposition after an alleged incident occurring in Rodgers on Oct. 5. According to University police reports, Turner invited the victim, an ex-girlfriend, to his room after he had been drinking heavily. While in his room, the victim claimed Turner stuck his hand underneath her shirt, fondled her and started rubbing his other hand against the crotch of her pants. The victim told Turner to stop but he persisted until somebody called his cell phone and Turner told the victim she could leave.

As a result of the incident, Turner was told not to have contact with the victim and a temporary restraining order was put in place. Turner allegedly violated the restraining order by sending the victim a text message and was ordered to return to Bowling Green to face additional charges for sending the message.

FOUR ENGLISH PROGRAM FOCUSES:

Creative Writing — devel-ops writing skills and utilizes workshops and peer and instructor reviewsEnglish — the study of English literatureScientific & Technical Communication — the use of language in the develop-ing online community Linguistics — merges English and Language Studies courseworkSource: Kristine Blair, Univ. English dept. chair

ship between major and minor is important and that choosing a minor that complements one’s major can prove practical. For example, she notes, a technically oriented major like Computer Science coupled with a minor in English can lead to a Masters degree in Library Science or work creating databases.

This sort of technical empha-sis for students studying English is becoming more and more common.

Blair said that due to the advent and popularization of the Internet, “The context of reading and writing has really changed over the last twenty years.” While Blair encourages students to make choices that are beneficial to their academic and occupa-tional aspirations, she believes what is most important in choos-ing a minor is that it truly appeals to the student.

“I think the most important thing is that students choose what they love,” she said.

Minors can be very complementary

8 - 9 p.m.The Cowboy Astronomer112 Physical Sciences Lab Bldg

6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.Wood County Board of Elections228 Union - Multipurpose Room8 a.m. - 9 p.m.Exhibit #4: Clay Club130 and 131 Union

8 a.m. - 11p.m.Muslim Student Association Prayer Room204 Olscamp

10 a.m. - 4p.m.Hari Kari Seminar/Raffle TableUnion Table Space

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.Purchase Farmers Formal TicketsUnion Table Space

11 a.m. - 3 p.m.DDAS Second Annual ConferenceUnion Table Space

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.Relay for Life Concert Ticket SalesUnion Table Space

12 - 4 p.m.Carolina Visit101A Olscamp

12 - 1 p.m.Weight Watchers at Work316 Union

2 - 6 p.m.Audition for Treehouse Troupe408 Mosley Hall

5 - 6 p.m.Learn about Co-ops and Internships117 Olscamp

8 p.m.Student Jazz CombosBryan Recital Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center

Some events taken from events.bgsu.edu

GET A LIFE

BEN LOHMAN | THE BG NEWS

FALL FRETS: Last evening the Union was transformed into an acoustic talent show. The fall fling had students perform their music to a diverse crowd who sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the free apple cider.

FALL FLING MAKES STUDENTS SING

By India HunterReporter

University Interim President Carol Cartwright spoke about several University matters during the Undergraduate Student Government meeting last night.

Cartwright answered ques-tions from USG members about planning for the University’s budget for the next two years.

“The University budget is an area of concern,” Cartwright said, noting the University works with the Ohio Board of Regents in determining the budget for the University.

Issues of concern include textbook costs, placing a pos-sible freeze on those costs and tuition costs.

Cartwright said that in creating a budget, finding a balance is key. She used the analogy of how a family finds a way to balance their budget when resources are dimin-ished. The University must do the same.

“It’s a roller coaster ride, some news will be good, while some will be bad,” Cartwright said.

She said the University hopes to have the budget proposal process finalized by June 2009.

Cartwright also clarified the role of a student trustee with-in student government since some USG members had ques-tions about it.

“Our student trustees take part in board of trustee meetings and discussions,” Cartwright said.

But due to state law, a student trustee can’t vote, Cartwright said.

If members were to try and change this current law, Cartwright stressed the importance of presenting a thorough, well-researched argument.

“A sound argument is well supported,” Cartwright said.

In order to attract more stu-dents to campus, Cartwright said the marketing depart-ment is looking into new strategies to find students in other areas of the state. Traditionally, the University relies heavily on students from the Cleveland area, but that must change since the number of Cleveland area graduates is declining.

“We are finding new creative ways to attract students to campus,” Cartwright said.

Cartwright commended USG members for their cam-pus beautification effort.

“When we look attractive, it does help with recruitment and retention,” Cartwright said.

USG President John Waynick also urged USG members to always be on the lookout for tackling issues of student concern.

“To re-iterate Cartwright’s point, a good argument is well-researched,” Waynick said.

Besides Cartwright’s speech, USG discussed two proposed resolutions, one which con-cerns the fee waiver for inter-national students.

Since this past summer, there has been confusion regarding the covering of costs of inter-national student tuition and fees. International students received an e-mail stating their tuition would no longer be cov-ered by the University.

And although most affect-ed have had their fee waiv-ers reinstated, there are still some students that have unresolved issues.

This is an issue of concern since having international stu-dents on campus is key to hav-ing a diverse student popula-tion,” Minority Affairs Senator Tyler Deitsch said.

USG Minority Affairs Senator Starmisha Page also agreed.

“Please go talk to interna-tional students and find out their stories,” Page said.

Another proposed resolu-tion to keep the Springboard program was also read dur-ing the meeting. A formal vote on both proposed reso-lutions will take place at a later date.

Cartwright addresses USG concernsCarolCartwrightUniversity Interim President whospoke to USG

Recently, I ran into my pal Stubby McDrool at my favorite down-town watering hole.

“Hi Stubbs,” I said, sitting down and putting my briefcase on a nearby chair.

“Hey Phil,” Stubby said, lifting his glass. “What’s new?”

“Not much,” I replied. The waitress approached and I ordered.

“I gotta tell you,” McDrool began after I settled in and took a sip of my brew, “I’m tired of this damn election. Be glad when it’s over. And I really don’t like either candidate very well. You’d think that in a nation of three hundred million people, we could do bet-ter than these two guys.”

“Made up your mind yet?” I asked. Normally, I don’t discuss politics, but I’ve known Stubby for a long time, and we do share some confidences.

“I can’t get behind Obama,”

Stubby replied. “I don’t like this ‘spread the wealth around’ stuff. I’ll spread my own wealth, thanks! I don’t think the gov-ernment’s competent to do it. Remember, these are the same guys who buy $650 toilet seats for the Pentagon.”

“What about all these tax cred-its Obama promises?” I asked.

“Tax credits — yeah, right. Did you know that most of them would be refundable? Whether or not you’ve paid any tax, Uncle Sam’s gonna cut you a check. You shouldn’t get a tax credit or refund unless you’ve paid taxes in the first place.”

“So where’s the government going to get all this money?” I asked.

“They’re gonna tax the wealth-iest taxpayers. It’s a wealth redis-tribution scheme. Take from the rich and give to the poor. Who the hell you think creates the jobs in this country? It’s the people who either own successful businesses or who invest in them.”

“Sounds like the national debt going up,” I noted. “You know, I

It has all come down to this day.Whether you support one candidate or

another, I honestly don’t care. I just want you to vote. I want you to actively partici-pate in the government that you generally complain about. Make your own contri-bution towards this country by punching a ballot card, pressing a button on a com-puter or filling in a black circle with your No. 2 pencil.

I remember my sixth grade Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Cashen. She made it her personal mission to teach us that vot-ing is not only our Constitutional right but a responsibility to this country that we live in. I also remember her telling our class that she would haunt us from her grave if we didn’t vote.

This will be an election that we will always remember. It is an election of firsts.

It all started back with the primaries.The nation had its first viable African-

American and female candidates (Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton). The first Mormon candidate (Gov. Mitt Romney). The first divorced candidate (former Mayor Rudy Giuliani). The old-est candidate ever to run (Sen. John McCain).

All these amazing firsts led to a revival of the election process. In 2006, only 68 per-cent of voting-age citizens registered, and of that group, 48 percent actually voted. The U.S. Census Bureau announced a few days ago that 94 percent of all eligible vot-ers have registered for this election.

Because of the early voting, some states are recording turnouts of 50

percent already. Already!This is what I want from you, the reader:

Just sitting there in between class or in your office. I want you to get up, find out where your polling location is, put on your coat, get in your car, drive there and vote.

Vote whichever way your little heart desires, but make your voice known. Our system only works when people are active.

I understand that there are people out there that are unsure. Some people worry that they don’t know enough to make an informed decision. If there is an issue that you aren’t sure about, just don’t make a decision on it. Leave that space blank. Move on to the next part that you are

more comfortable with.Voting is not like a test. It is not timed.

It will not affect your G.P.A. and not even your parents will know how you voted.

There is also a decent portion of regis-tered voters that are jaded. In one of my Political Science classes, a student raised his hand and said that he and his friends were jaded because of past elections. They haven’t voted since, because they didn’t feel like their vote mattered or made a difference in the end. Tough. Get over it. The big, bad mistake of 2000 and 2004 is running out of time and ruining our lives further. Instead of wallowing in cynicism, take a chance and try again. The person or issue you vote for isn’t always going to win. It’s just a fact. However, your presence makes an impact as well. If it doesn’t pass this time, it could pass in the future with more informed voters.

I come from family of voters. I can remember Reagan’s second run for office. I remember Bush Sr.’s stomping over Dukakis and my dad taking me into the old, curtained voting booths, letting me pull the lever once he flipped all the little switches and proudly wearing my “I’m a Democrat” button.

My mom would take me to the poll-ing station as well, explaining to me how important it was to vote because there were people that needed to have their voices heard.

I was in the sixth grade when Bill Clinton was sworn into office with the voice of

SPEAK YOUR MINDGot something you want to say about an opinion column or news story?

Here’s how to get in touch with us for letters to the editor:

E-mail us at thenews@bgnews.com.Drop a note into our new comment box at the Union Information Center.Call us at 419-372-6966.Come to our newsroom in 210 West Hall.

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No matter who you’re for, just vote

PHIL SCHURRERFACULTY COLUMNIST

MICHAEL WEIGMAN | THE BG NEWS

LORI WEBERCOLUMNIST

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Just do it!

“Vote whichever way your little heart desires, but

make your voice known. Our system only works

when people are active.”

Wrongful BG News endorsementI can’t believe The BG News endorsed Barack Obama. What a surprise. The liberal BG News endorses Barack Obama. Who would have guessed? It was hard to tell who they would endorse from looking at the articles that have been posted in the recent weeks.

According to The BG News, there are several reasons why Obama is best for college stu-dents. For one, college students are going to have to enter a ter-rible job market. I suppose the best plan for this is to tax small businesses (the ones that cre-ate the most jobs) and give that money as a tax credit to college students. If I was a small busi-ness and had to dish out more money in taxes, I’d say I’m not likely to create more jobs and expand my business … but evi-dently this will fix the job mar-ket. Instead of promoting hard work and doing well in school to get scholarships, let’s “spread the wealth.”

I love the other reason that Obama is a better choice for stu-dents: Because he cares more. They use the example that 4 years ago, George Bush was try-ing to ban gay marriage while now Obama is there to care for college students. Great compari-son! Oops, I think you forgot that it is John McCain who is running

against Obama, not Bush. One major point The BG News

claims is a great reason for you to vote for Obama is because of the great character and leadership he has shown during 21 months of campaigning. Really? How about 6 years in a prisoner of war camp in which he kept the faith with his fellow prisoners? This is something none of us could ever even fathom. How about an entire lifetime of service in addi-tion to a long campaign? I would have to say that shows much much more character than a 21 month campaign.

Lastly, poor Obama for hav-ing to endure political ads that call him out of some important issues that The BG News calls ‘minor flaws.’ Minor flaws like a complete lack of experience, ties to socialists and known terror-ists that have been swept under the rug. These are ‘minor flaws’? Are you kidding? The choice between Obama and McCain is clear. A man who has served his country since he was 17 years old and a man who has endured a 21-month campaign. A man who wants to promote small business and a man who wants to take money from small businesses to help ‘spread the wealth’.

Please don’t let Obama’s great speech make substitute for prov-en results and proven service. In my opinion, The BG News is far from objective.

— Jason Glazer is a junior majoring in aviation man-

agement. Respond to him at thenews@bgnews.com.

Nothing is for free: promises are expensive

See SCHURRER | Page 5

See WEBER | Page 5

FORUM “So many of us were hoping and praying that his grandmother would have the opportunity to witness her grandson become our next president.” — Marcus Oshiro, Hawaiian Representative, on the unfortunate death of Sen. Barack Obama’s grandmother [see story, pg. 2].

The BG News Submission PolicyLETTERS TO THE EDITOR are generally to be fewer than 300 words. These are usually in response to a current issue on the University’s campus or the Bowling Green area.

GUEST COLUMNS are generally longer pieces between 400 and 700 words. These are usually also in response to a current issue on the University’s campus or the Bowling Green area. Two submissions per month maximum.

POLICIES: Letters to the Editor and Guest Columns are printed as space on the Opinion Page permits. Additional Letters to the Editor or Guest Columns may be published online. Name, year and phone number should be included for verification purposes. Personal attacks, unverified information or anonymous submissions will not be printed.

E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS as an attachment to thenews@bgnews.com with the subject line marked “Letter to the Editor” or “Guest Column.” All submissions are sub-ject to review and editing for length and clarity before printing. The editor may change the headlines to submitted columns and letters at his or her discretion.

Opinion columns do not necessarily reflect the view of The BG News.

PEOPLE ON THE STREET Who do you want to win the election?

PARTRICIA MEDINA, Grad Student, Math

“Obama.”

CHAD RUTKOWSKI, Senior, Sports Management

“Obama.”

NATHAN BAYLY, Freshman, History

“McCain.”

BRITNI PURYEAR, Junior, Foreign Language Education

“Obama.” VISIT US ATBGNEWS.COM

Have your own take on today’s People On The Street? Or a suggestion for a question? Give us your feedback at bgnews.com.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 4

THE BG NEWSFREDDY HUNT, EDITOR IN CHIEF

210 West HallBowling Green State University

Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 | Phone: (419) 372-6966E-mail: thenews@bgnews.com

Web site: http://www.bgnews.comAdvertising: 204 West Hall | Phone: (419) 372-2606

TIM SAMPSON, EXECUTIVE EDITORGINA POTTHOFF, MANAGING EDITORRYAN SULLIVAN, CAMPUS EDITORKRISTEN VASAS, CITY EDITORJEFF HOUNSHEL, COPY CHIEFCARRIE CRANE, DESIGN EDITORENOCH WU, PHOTO EDITORCHRIS VOLOSCHUK, SPORTS EDITORSARAH MOORE, PULSE EDITORKYLE REYNOLDS, IN FOCUS EDITORSCOTT RECKER, SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITORCRAIG VANDERKAM, WEB EDITOR

FIND OUT WHAT BGNEWS.COM HAS TO OFFER YOU!TOP NEWS STORIES The site is updated daily with stories from the paper and online extras.

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MULTIMEDIA Podcasts, audio slideshows and video add to the story.

Aretha Franklin belting out in the background. I remember when Bob Dole fell off a stage while campaigning.

This year, we have seen such incredible images: A female vice presidential candidate that rein-vigorated the Republican Party, a plumber that became an over-night mantra and of course, ‘Change’.

We are at a turning point in our lives. History is unveiling before us.

For those that have already voted, thank you. For those that are waiting in line at their polling station right now and reading this, thank you .

For the rest of you: Go. Now. If your polling station is 300 miles

away or isn’t a feasible drive, ask for a provisional ballot. They will hand you a giant floppy paper, fill out both sides, and the election volunteers will place it in a manila envelop to be counted later.

I want to know those who voted. When you have voted, go to www.bgnews.com, and find this col-umn. Post a comment that says, “I voted.”

If you want, tell me your story of how or why you voted. I can’t expect everyone to be as excited about politics as I am, but I do expect people to put an effort into participating in the election process.

William E. Simon once said, “Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don’t vote.”

— Respond to Lori at thenews@bgnews.com.

WEBER From Page 4

FORUMWWW.BGNEWS.COM Tuesday, November 4, 2008 5

Tuesday November 4 Kreischer Sundial 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

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Thursday November 20 Kreischer Sundial 4:30 - 7:00 pm

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MAKE YOUR HOME AT:Haven House ManorFox Run Apts.Piedmont Apts. “Renovated”Updated Birchwood (small pet allowed)Mini Mall Apts. (Downtown)1 Bedroom & Effi cienciesHouses

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Editors’ note: This column origi-nally appeared in the Oct. 30 issue of The BG News.

It was supposed to be Hillary Clinton’s game 21 months ago. Then Mitt Romney was sup-posed to come along and be the savior of the Republican Party. Next we were told Rudy Giuliani would be taking his seat in the Oval Office come Jan. 20, 2009.

From the outset of this elec-tion nearly two years ago, every pundit, pollster and politico in the business has been trying to tell us who would be the next president. And every time they’ve been wrong.

If the soothsayers of MSNBC, Fox News and CNN had any idea what they were talking about last summer, then our campus would currently be flooded with signs for Clinton and Giuliani.

And remember when former Senator and “Law and Order” star Fred Thompson, was sup-posed to revitalize the GOP. Polls showed him leading the pack for the Republican nomi-nation … that is until he actu-ally entered the race and his campaign managed to generate the excitement of a Nickelback concert ticket giveaway.

Do you recall the week fol-lowing the Iowa caucus? Barack Obama’s upset victory in the Hawkeye state had him leading by double digits going into the New Hampshire Primary. All the pundits said he’d win the primary there and it was game over for Clinton. MSNBC’s coverage that week was like a coronation for Obama. But of course Clinton came back and won in New Hampshire and the contest dragged on to June until Obama finally emerged victorious.

So looking back over the many failed efforts to predict the 2008 election, there is one important lesson to take away. Voters still decide elections.

John McCain was dead in the water back in summer 2007. But voters decided to reject the premature political obituary offered by the media and res-urrect the Senator when voting actually began in January of this year.

Voters in Iowa also chose Obama when all the experts said Clinton would sail right on through to claim her party’s nomination.

And there is no reason to think voting today won’t be just as important. Whether you’re an Obama or McCain support-er, going out to the polls is still crucial.

If you’re a McCain supporter, don’t get discouraged. Anything can happen. Just remember that famous picture of a victori-ous Harry Truman hoisting up a false, prematurely written head-line, “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Or look at those polls the day before the New Hampshire pri-mary that had Hillary down for the count. A lot can still happen on Election Day.

And the same is true for Obama supporters as well. After eight years out in the cold, victory seems within grasp for the Democrats and potentially leading to overconfidence for voters. That’s what Obama him-self has been warning against in his speeches recently. And youth voters have notoriously been blamed for letting down candidates at the last minute by not showing up in full force.

That is why it’s equally impor-tant for voters on both sides to go to the polls today. No more predictions. It’s time for a deci-sion. And you’re the ones who get to make it.

— Respond to Tim at thenews@bgnews.com.

The only way to predict the election is by voting

TIMSAMPSON

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

pushed some numbers around concerning this year’s federal budget. Let me see ...” I fished in my briefcase. In a moment I had the worksheet. “Take a look at this.”

McDrool looked over the num-bers. He uttered an expletive. “You mean that we’re close to a quarter of trillion dollars in the hole for just this year?”

“Yep. And that doesn’t even include funding for the war.”

He looked at the numbers again. “Mandatory expenditures are two-thirds of total expendi-tures?” he muttered.

“Right, and that just cov-ers Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, wel-fare and interest on the national debt. These are the payments Uncle Sam has to make before anything else gets funded.”

“What kind of a country are we going to leave our kids?” Stubby retorted. “You think things are bad now. With the deficits they’re going to run up, they’ll have to raise everyone’s taxes eventual-ly. And this’ll happen about the time our students graduate and get jobs. What’ll we tell them? ‘You supported Obama. Now you get to pay for it,’ Sorry, I don’t think it’s good in the long run for the country.”

“Churchill once said that ‘capitalism’s the unequal shar-ing of blessings and socialism’s

the equal sharing of misery,’” I recalled.

“Right,” he continued. “Government doesn’t really create jobs or wealth. It just taxes it.”

“So, you like McCain better?” I asked.

“Only slightly,” Stubby replied. “I think he’s less likely to spend as much on giveaway, give-the-folks-anything-they-want stuff.”

“Sounds like ‘bread and circus-es’ to me, Stubbs,” I interjected. “You know — what the Romans said: Keep ‘em entertained and happy. That’s no formula for a functioning democracy.”

“Obama’s trying to convince everyone that McCain’s a car-bon copy of Bush, and we need change, change, change,” Stubby said. “If you say a thing often enough …”

“People will believe it,” I fin-ished the thought.

“Right. Some people don’t understand that nothing’s for free.” Stubby replied, finishing his glass. “Obama trying to buy votes by promising something for the ‘little guy.’ Sounds almost like class warfare to me. Bottom line: his program’s gonna cost more than McCain’s. And that’s only half the problem”

“What’s the other half?” I queried.

“We don’t have that kind of money.”

— Respond to Phil at thenews@bgnews.com.

SCHURRER From Page 4

By Natalie HeinU-Wire

In 1954, Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy proclaimed to the American public, which was para-lyzed by the fear of the eminent spread of communism, that famed CBS news reporter Edward R. Murrow was a promoter of com-munist propaganda.

In a similar fear-churned political climate 54 years later, Republican presidential candidate John McCain and vice presidential can-didate Sarah Palin have been slur-ring their opponent, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, with claims that he has worked closely with terrorists.

These fear-mongering scenarios are chillingly similar.

Today, Murrow is considered by many to be one of the most respectable figures in the his-tory of American broadcast jour-nalism. Conversely, the term “McCarthyism” stirs up anti-free-dom anxiety in many modern-day Americans. So why is the McCain/Palin camp so quick to revert to the scare tactics of the heavily cri-tiqued McCarthy period? Recent political developments are proving the “pro-America” rhetoric of the Republican Party to be anything but American.

It’s completely backward for any-one to accuse Obama, a man vying to be the leader of the free world, of seeing the world “as so imperfect that he’s palling around with ter-rorists who would target their own country.” This comment by Palin in reference to Obama’s past work with Bill Ayers, a political activist and domestic terrorist during the ‘60s and ‘70s, did not stand up to further scrutiny. Obama identified Ayers as “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was eight,” and someone who he has not recently been close to, nor someone he has ever shared radical terrorist opinions with.

Therefore, an empty com-ment such as Palin’s reveals that in this presidential election, the Republican Party is trying to paint Obama as an anti-American enemy by donning

him with false titles.Their hope is that the ignorant

fear of the electorate will play out as it initially did for McCarthy in false-ly labeling upstanding Americans as communists. McCain and Palin should note that McCarthy’s anti-patriot crusade ultimately failed.

The party’s rhetoric has been implying that we Angelenos are un-American as well. Palin’s ref-erence to small towns being the “real America” implies that big cities such as Los Angeles are unpatriotic.

But America’s big cities contain most of its diversity. So if you live in a big city, and you tolerate those from different backgrounds, and you have independent thoughts, and you appreciate the cultural diversity of a metropolitan area, you’re not a real American?

America prides itself on being the land of the free, the great melt-ing pot. These descriptions indi-cate freedom of expression and diversity. The United States was once a dream home for people of any nation to come to be consid-ered valuable and equal. Yet the current rhetoric has divided the nation. It has pointed out that a candidate can be slurred just for his racial background or middle name (Hussein), and that Americans who don’t hold guns or Wal-Mart on high aren’t truly American.

In a shocking and ironic politi-cal development, it seems as if the perpetuation of these ideas is as un-American as it gets: The Washington Post broke a story Wednesday about an endorsement of McCain on a password-protect-ed al-Qaeda Web site, al-Hesbah. The endorsement pointed out that four more years of “pro-America” rhetoric would continue to increase recruitment to anti-American and terrorist organizations. An election of McCain would also guarantee our occupation in the Middle East for an indefinite period of time, continuing a war that has “exhausted (America’s) resources and bankrupted its economy,” according to the author of the post-ing, Muhammad Haafid. McCain’s party is dealing out just what the terrorists ordered.

Fear not a way to win

Election parties perfect opportunity

to get wastedBy Andi Berlin

U-wire

Simply stated, the implications of the people’s mandate in this historic election will redefine even the most basic American assumptions, shattering our traditional views on balance of power, gender, leadership per-sonas, pacifism, race and a host of defining issues. What better reason, then, to get unbeliev-ably, explosively wasted.

From the vantage point of his-tory, it doesn’t seem as terrible now that I pissed away election night 2004 biting my arm skin at Cellar Restaurant in Wilbur’s Underground. Compared to this, the last election wasn’t real-ly that big of a deal. I mean, it was a shame that amongst other freshmen, I would consciously reject drunken euphoria in lieu of Dance Dance Revolution machines and faux parties with loads of Diet Pepsi and people chanting in board shorts. That’s sad to me. But not nearly as sad as it would be now.

Since this is a such a crucial period in American history, I feel it’s my duty as a public fig-ure to persuade the citizens of this fine university to avoid col-lege-sponsored events and get drunk on their own: in house parties, at the voting booth, by themselves or with their chin-chillas. But far, far away from the auspices of this establishment. It’s lame here, to be honest, and it’s even lamer to be here on the biggest party night since Independence Day!

Election night debauchery idea Number 1: Get drunk while voting. Like I stated earlier, this is a wonderful solution to any pre-drunk McCain wins. If you’re smashed before they even start counting, you won’t have to be upset all night! But, for dog’s sake, make a game out of it. I say, fill a water bottle with your favorite vodka, and every time you check “no” on a proposition, take a swig. Hopefully, that’ll be a lot. Or better yet, if you truly want majority rules and home-owner’s rights, death to illegals or whatever, take a swig every time you vote to retain a judge. That should be sufficient, unless you’re an asshole.

Election night debauchery idea Number 2: Celebrate the death of America. I heard this one on conservative talk radio, although it might have been slightly different. Throw a party where everyone dresses up in ghost costumes left over from Halloween. Put a festive ham in the crock pot and totally sear it so it’s ashy and inedible. Do a lot of raving around, call someone an offensive and borderline rac-ist name and then have a séance at the end when everyone’s

tipsy. I think they said this idea only works if Obama wins, but it’ll probably happen so don’t worry.

Election night ridiculous idea Number 3: Crash your oppo-nent’s party. If you’re a Democrat, this would be at a local church. If you’re a Republican, at an abor-tion clinic. If you’re a Libertarian, just leave Coffee X-Change. When you get there, pretend to be really nice and on their side for about a half an hour. Cheer when they cheer. Heckle when they heckle. Then, when some-one finally accidentally offends you, make a show of it. It’ll get really awkward at this point, so maybe you should leave. Then, when you get outside and no one can hear, call them a terrorist!

Election idea Number 4: Have your own party, but don’t watch the news. Just get drunk instead.

Election idea Number 5: Have a serious party where you analyze what’s going on when it happens. I don’t suggest this one, but some may insist on it. And I’d rather persuade you to do this than go see that guy who calls himself an MP3-J at Wilbur’s Underground. Draw diagrams. Care about who wins. Discuss — how shall I say — politics. Be really excited for the entirety of the election, but then jaded and ironic after the anti-climax. Try to forget about the entire thing for four years until someone comes along who you actually like. Or take the high road and stay interested in poli-tics. Decorate your house with Bushisms and pretend you’re smarter than everyone on televi-sion. Picket a major road. Have a meeting in the back room of La Indita. Accost people and guilt them into signing forms on University Boulevard. Pretend you’re fighting against the ter-rors and injustices of the current administration. Pretend you’re changing the world.

Whatever you do, whomever you vote for, just don’t go to Maloney’s.

“Crash your opponent’s party. If you’re a Democrat,

this would be a church. If you’re a Republican, at an abortion clinic. If

you’re a Libertarian, just leave Coffee X-

Change.”

POLITICS6 Tuesday, November 4, 2008 WWW.BGNEWS.COM

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By Beth FouhyThe Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — John McCain often tells campaign audiences he doesn’t hide from history. He surely didn’t yes-terday, undertaking an energetic march across seven battleground states on the last day of a long presidential contest the opinion polls all said he was trailing.

“I’m an American, and I choose to fight!” McCain proclaimed at rallies in Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana and just outside Virginia. It was a pledge of defiance amid a blizzard of late polls showing Barack Obama leading in most competitive states, leaving McCain with only the narrowest possible path to victory tonight.

“When I’m president,” he said again and again through the day, filling in a litany of the good things to follow: More jobs, lower energy costs. A president

who would bring change and not just talk about it.

“When I’m president, we’re going to win in Afghanistan, win in Iraq, and our troops will come home with vic-tory and honor.”

But once he started out this way: “My friends, if I’m elected president. ...” He quickly caught himself: “When I’m elected president. ...”

Bucking him up, the crowd in Indianapolis chanted his name, over and over.

“John McCain! John McCain! John McCain! John McCain! ...”

The Arizona senator’s 18-hour east-to-west odyssey would later take him to New Mexico, Nevada and home to Phoenix in the early morning of today’s Election Day. Buoyed by what campaign manager Rick Davis said was a promising surge in Western bat-tleground state polling, the campaign

was even adding stops today, in New Mexico and Colorado.

“In New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada, it’s all margin of error,” Davis told reporters even though public poll-ing showed Obama leading in those longtime Republican bastions. “It’s a slow process, the McCain way of grinding out a victory. Nothing fancy,” Davis contended.

The day got off to a slow start in Tampa, on the western edge of Florida’s vote-rich Interstate 4 cor-ridor. McCain stepped before a crowd estimated at no more than 1,000 peo-ple near where President Bush drew 15,000 to a campaign rally in 2004.

“With this kind of enthusiasm and this kind of intensity, we will win Florida and we will win the election!” McCain declared, even though the crowd seemed neither particularly enthusiastic nor intense.

McCain makes last minute campaign stops

Obama seems confident going into Election DayBy Nedra Pickler

The Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Barack Obama looks and acts like a guy who expects to win.

Just look at his election eve schedule. While John McCain rushed around to seven states for last-minute campaigning yesterday, Obama didn’t appear before voters until after 11 a.m., the first of just three events for the day.

Before that, he did radio interviews from his hotel room — then he headed out in sweat pants and a ball cap for a 45-minute workout at a gym.

“What is the one thing at this point that has you a little bit concerned?” he was asked by syndicated radio host Russ Parr.

“You know, I feel pretty peaceful, Russ, I gotta say,” Obama replied. “Because my atti-tude is, if we’ve done everything we can do, then it’s up to the people to decide. And the question is going to be who wants it more. And I hope that our supporters want it bad,

because I think the country needs it.”Obama’s supporters were nothing if not

fired up. About 9,000 came to his event in con-servative-leaning Jacksonville, while across the state in Tampa, McCain drew less than 1,000. Obama’s crowd was decked out in cam-paign T-shirts that said things like “Obama is my homeboy,” and stood in their seats at Veterans Memorial Arena before he got there, dancing to a warm-up soundtrack that includ-ed India.Arie’s song, “There’s Hope.”

By now clad in suit and tie, he told them, “I have just one word for you, Florida: ‘Tomorrow.’”

Actually, he had a lot of words for them — recapping his long campaign and looking to the future — once he quieted their screaming. Sensing victory, the crowd was exuberant.

He talked about starting out “in the depths of winter nearly two years ago on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill.”

“I voted for you!” called out an audience member.

“Thank you for the vote,” Obama said, try-ing with a smile to pick up the thread of his speech in front of a crowd that was ready to celebrate.

“Back then we didn’t have much money,” he said. “We didn’t have — all right, you all, let’s settle down.”

He said that after “21 months of a campaign that’s taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one day away from changing the United States of America.”

The polls gave Obama reason for confi-dence — he was ahead in every state that Democrat John Kerry won in 2004 and a few that President Bush won as well. He said Sunday that campaigning with his family before massive crowds over the weekend had him thinking he might indeed be headed to victory, but he told the Jacksonville crowd it would be close and they needed to “work like our future depends on it in the next 24 hours, because it does.”

CAROLYN KASTER | AP PHOTO

ALEX BRANDON | AP PHOTO

SPORTSTuesday, November 4, 2008 7

FOOTBALLMahone named MAC Player of the WeekJunior safety P.J. Mahone was named Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Week by the league office yesterday. In Saturday’s win over Kent, Mahone had nine tackles, an interception and three pass breakups.

ONLINEThe BG News Sports BlogBe sure to log on to The BG News Sports Blog all week long to get updates and info on every fall sport. We’ll have continuing coverage of the football team’s preparation for this weekend’s game against Ohio and also the start of our coverage of men’s and women’s basketball.www.bgnewssports.com

TODAYWomen’s basketballvs. Findlay (exhibition); 7 p.m.Men’s Soccerat Detroit; 2 p.m.

Today in Sports History1988—The Hornets lose their first game at the Charlotte Coliseum to the Cavaliers, 133-93.1980—Sadaharu Oh, pro baseball’s all-time homerun king, retires with 868.1924—California legalizes pro boxing.1904—Harvard builds first stadium specifically designed for football.

The ListThe new NBA season started last week, and we’re just plain excited. There are already players putting up big numbers, and today we’re going to list five of the more impressive stat lines out there:1. Joe Johnson: Atlanta’s shooting guard is averaging a torrid 30 points per game.2. Elton Brand: Brand was brought to Philadelphia to provide points, rebounding and toughness in the paint. So far, he’s done that, averaging 14 rebounds a game.3. Chris Paul: A frontrunner for NBA MVP, Paul is averaging 12 assists a game for New Orleans.4. Dwight Howard: Orlando’s big man can control the paint with the best of them. So far, he’s blocking over four shots per game.5. Jason Kidd: Even though Kidd’s getting up there in age, he’s still one of the best point guards in the game, averaging four steals every game.

SIDELINES

SCHEDULE

OUR CALL

BG WOMEN’S SOCCERLAST GAME: The Falcons were able to beat Western Michigan in the tourney quarterfinals, 2-0.

NEXT UP: The Falcons will travel up I-75 to face Toledo for the second time in a week Friday in the MAC semifinals.

Road tothe MAC Tourney

BG MEN’S SOCCERLAST GAME: In its final home game of the season, BG lost to Buffalo, 2-0.

NEXT UP: The Falcons have one more regular season game to go — a matchup with Detroit today at 2 p.m.

Women beat WMU, will face Toledo in semifinals

Men lose final home game, play Detroit today

WOMEN’S SOCCER GLANCERECORD: 12-5-4 (6-3-2)

TOP SCORER: Corbie Yee, six goals

SHUTOUTS: 14

SENIORS: Christy Zabek, Corbie Yee, Gina Rossi, Susan Hunter, Brianne Eisenhard, Kristin McDonald

MEN’S SOCCERGLANCERECORD: 4-12-1 (0-6-0)

TOP SCORER: Jacob Lawrence, four goals

TOTAL SAVES: 75

SENIORS: Brent Petkus, Paul Shoemaker, Ryan Davis, Kyle McNayr

By Jordan CravensReporter

Playing with the intensity of a post-season match, the BG wom-en’s soccer team came out firing on all cylinders in the first-round of the Mid-American Conference tournament.

Although their efforts were not reflected in scoring, at least for the first half of play, their intent was clear as they chalked up nine shots offensively compared with Western Michigan’s one, in the opening 45 minutes.

Bronco goalkeeper Julia Francy had the Falcons dialed in, seem-ingly always in position to make the stop as she recorded eight

saves in the first half alone.It appeared as though the

match would remain dead-locked, as the frustration of the Falcons mounted with each unfinished scoring opportunity during the first half.

But the tides quickly changed coming out of halftime when Colleen Kordan, a defensive player, booted a penalty kick into the upper-right corner of the goal just over a minute into second half play, giving her team a much needed lift.

“It was really important that we got off to a good start second half,”

By Jason JonesReporter

The men’s soccer team took the field at home Saturday for the final time this season, looking for their first Mid-American Conference win of the year.

With the added emotion of Senior Day, the Falcons got off to an impressive start. Their offense came out looking as aggressive as it had all season, with pressure being applied and shots by Tyler Deal and Thomas McLean just missed the goal.

The defense also looked impres-sive in the early going, as goal-ie Paul Shoemaker made four impressive early saves, two of

which he deflected on full-exten-sion dives, to go along with the eight he had on the day.

Unfortunately for the Falcons however, Buffalo still managed to strike first in the 39th minute. The goal, along with another late in the second half, sealed a 2-0 loss for the Falcons.

“We had to manage the game without Chris [Jurtovski], Byard Ebling and Hunter [Van Houten], and obviously that hurt us,” said head coach Fred Thompson.

The team has been plagued with injuries as of late, and at this point is just looking to get every-

FAMILIAR SITUATION: The BG women’s soccer team faced Toledo last week and the game resulted in a 1-1 tie after two overtimes.

BRANDON HEISS | THE BG NEWS

WORK TO DO: The BG men’s soc-cer team hasn’t won a single MAC game all season, but will play in the MAC Tourney this week.

ETHAN MAGOC | THE BG NEWS

Football notes: With offense finally clicking, Falcons get ready for Bobcats

ENOCH WU | THE BG NEWS

NO ROOM FOR ERROR: With three games left to play, the Falcons will have to win out in order to have a chance at taking the MAC East title.

By Andrew HarnerAssistant Sports Editor

Following a big conference win over Kent State, coach Gregg Brandon seemed pleased to meet with the media to discuss a win rather than a loss.

In weeks past, Brandon fielded many questions about the past game, but yesterday, the discus-sion was focused more on indi-vidual players rather than over-arching team issues.

Toledo TomToledo coach Tom Amstutz

announced yesterday morning that he will step down from his head coaching position at the end of the season.

Despite the big rivalry Toledo

and BG share on the field, Amstutz and Brandon became good friends over the years leading Brandon to say Amstutz will be missed.

“He a great coach, a great guy,” Brandon said. “Not only Toledo, I think the [Mid-American Conference] will miss coach Amtustz.”

Injury ReportBrandon still didn’t have a full

injury report on Anthony Turner’s injured shoulder.

After the game, Brandon said

that Turner had injured his other shoulder, but had no other details. Yesterday, he said Turner was receiving a MRI yesterday afternoon.

Receiver Freddie Barnes has been upgraded from out to day-to-day, but his status for Ohio this weekend is still uncertain.

The same can be said for run-ning back Willie Geter, who did practice sparingly Sunday night.

See MEN | Page 8See WOMEN | Page 8

See NOTES | Page 8

Tom AmstutzWill step down as Toledo’s coach at end of season

AnthonyTurnerWill have an MRI on shoulder he injured Saturday

SPORTS8 Tuesday, November 4, 2008 WWW.BGNEWS.COM

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Presidential candidates talk about sports issues on eve of election

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Barack Obama tells ESPN’s

“Monday Night Football” it’s time for college football to pick a cham-pion with a playoff system while Republican John McCain wants to put an end to performance-enhancing substances.

On the eve of the election, the two presidential candidates were interviewed via satellite by ESPN’s Chris Berman. The taped interviews were to air during halftime of game between the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Both candidates were asked to name one thing they would change in sports.

“I think it is about time that we had playoffs in college football. I’m fed up with these computer rank-ings and this and that and the other. Get eight teams — the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a National Champion,” Obama said.

College football uses a Bowl Championship Series system, commonly known as BCS, that is based on computer rankings.

McCain said he would “take significant action to prevent the spread and use of performance-enhancing substances. I think it’s a game we’re going to be in for a long time. What I mean by that is there is somebody in a labora-

tory right now trying to develop some type of substance that can’t be detected and we’ve got to stay ahead of it. It’s not good for the athletes. It’s not good for the sports. It’s very bad for those who don’t do it, and I think it can attack the very integrity of all sports going all the way down to high school.”

Not lost on the candidates, who have spent millions on cam-paign advertising, is the ratings for Monday Night Football. ESPN

said this year’s Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys telecast on Sept. 15 attracted cable’s largest audi-ence ever — 13 million homes and 18.6 million viewers.

Obama had another sports encounter Monday when he rec-ognized a familiar face while stop-ping by a local campaign office in Charlotte, N.C.

“It’s M.L. Carr!” Obama exclaimed, clearly excited to spot the former Boston Celtics’ star.

CAROLYN KASTER | AP PHOTO

NO MORE ‘ROIDS: John McCain said he’d get rid of performance enhancing drugs if he could change one thing in sports.

JAE C. HONG | AP PHOTO

PLAYOFFS!?: If Barack Obama could change one thing about sports, he’d make sure college football had a playoff system.

AP PHOTO

MOVING: Allen Iverson (left) was traded to Detroit from Denver yesterday for Chauncey Billups (center) and Antonio McDyess (right).

Pistons, Nuggets complete megatradeBy Larry Lage

The Associated Press

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons worked the phones last summer, trying to trade for a superstar to shake up their roster.

They ended up standing pat because a deal didn’t make sense.

Two games into the season, Allen Iverson was the answer to their hopes in a blockbust-er that generated rare buzz for the NBA in November.

Detroit acquired the former NBA MVP on Monday for All-Star point guard and former finals MVP Chauncey Billups, top reserve Antonio McDyess and project Cheikh Samb.

“We just felt it was the right time to change our team,” Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told The Associated Press. “Iverson gives us a dimension that we haven’t had here and we really think it’s going to help us.”

The Pistons have reached six straight Eastern Conference finals — the longest such streak since the Los Angeles Lakers’ dominant run in the 1980s — and won the 2004 title without a player expected to be in the Hall of Fame.

Dumars said the Nuggets first contacted him Thursday with a proposal that included Iverson. Dumars, who had become concerned the Pistons were set in their ways, struck a deal at 1:45 Monday morning.

“It gives us a different way to attack people,” Dumars said. “We have been extremely successful for a long time. But I also think what comes with that is a little bit of predictability.”

Iverson may not be around for long — making $20.8 mil-lion in the final season of his contract — but The Answer might be what Detroit needs to return to the NBA finals for the first time since 2005.

The Pistons are hoping Iverson will play Wednesday at Toronto and barring inju-ry, his home debut will be Sunday night against the Boston Celtics.

Detroit played Monday night at Charlotte, where the Bobcats are led by Larry Brown. The Hall of Fame coach helped Billups and the Pistons to the 2004 NBA title and guided the Iverson-led Philadelphia 76ers to a spot in the finals in 2001.

“Trading Marilyn Monroe for Jane Russell. That’s not bad,” Brown said. “Joe knows what he’s doing, and I’m happy Chauncey’s going back to Denver and his family is there.”

Iverson talked about the possibility of being traded during training camp and said the only negative would be uprooting his family again.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI | AP PHOTO

THE ANSWER?: Iverson will add a scoring punch to the Pistons lineup.

CARLOS OSORIO | AP PHOTO

POINT MAN: Billups is the true point guard the Nuggets have sought for years.

DUANE BURLESON | AP PHOTO

BIG MAN: McDyess will add much-needed depth to Denver’s front court.

said BG Coach Andy Richards. And that is exactly what Kordan’s goal accomplished.

“You should score on a penalty, but that’s critical. If she doesn’t score that, then it gives them a huge boost of confidence and it goes the other way,” he said.

“Their goalkeeper, to be fair, had a very, very good game. That was my dread that she was going to pinch something out,” he said of the penalty kick.

“I knew it was a huge turn-around in the game,” Kordan said, who felt that her shot was golden as soon as she struck the ball. “I knew I had to put it away and I am confident doing that.”

“Of course our team was defi-nitely down after that first half … We had so many opportunities. That brought our team from down low to up high,” she said.

Kordan has become the “go-to” in penalty-kick situations, now 3-3 in conversions this season.

In open play, freshman Alyssa Zuccaro, scored on a somewhat unexpected play on a ball lofted over top of her by Kordan, who was credited with the assist on the play.

“To see her chasing down what looked like a bit of a lost cause wasn’t a surprise,” Richards said,

noting the strong work ethic of Zuccaro game-in and game-out.

“She had great composure there to finish it off and just take it underneath the goalkeeper. You could see the relief on her face when it went in.”

While scoring may have come only in the second half, defense remained constant, as BG secured a 2-0 shutout victory.

“Anytime you can get a shutout, it’s going to be a good platform to work from,” Richards said.

“Defensively we were strong and it wasn’t just the back four, it was all over the field.”

With the win, the Falcons’ will take on top-seeded Toledo on the Rockets’ home field on Friday in the semi-final round, with kick-off set for 2 p.m.

Last year, UT defeated BG in the MAC championship game.

“I don’t fear anybody in this conference. We respect every-body, but we don’t fear anybody,” Richards said.

WOMEN From Page 7

one healthy in time for the MAC tournament on November 13.

“We’ll play who it makes sense to play on Tuesday, and make sure we have everyone healthy for the MAC tournament,” Thompson said.

After the Falcons first goal of the game, they were virtually unable to put the same pressure they had on the Bulls before the goal, causing much of the second half to be starved of highlights.

After a game that was short of high notes for seniors Ryan Davis, Paul Shoemaker, Brent Petkus and Kyle McNayr, the days defining moment came. It did so in the form of a proposal. Davis, with the help of a match-making Thompson, channeled his inner Ian Johnson, propos-ing to his girlfriend on the field in front of the home crowd.

“We’ve been planning it for a little over a month. Coach has really helped me out a lot,” Davis said.

His girlfriend, senior Stephanie Guigou, is now his fiancée.

The Falcons, however, are now 4-12-1 as they head to Detroit for the regular season finale on Tuesday. They’ve also been locked into the bottom slot of the MAC tournament, which will be hosted by national power Akron.

MEN From Page 7

“I don’t fear anybody in this conference.

We respect everybody, but we

don’t fear anybody.”Andy Richards | Coach

One and doneWith the MAC East race so

tight, Brandon and his players are looking at the next three games as must-wins since another loss will ultimately doom the season. “We told the kids before camp

that it’s a four game playoff and single elimination,” Brandon said.

“If you lose, you go home. Even for the big boys playing for the national championship, you lose, you go home.” Akron and Buffalo are currently both ahead of BG in the stand-ings and Temple is right behind them. Each of these teams have two wins, and assuming BG wins out, they will hold the tie-break-ers over Akron and Buffalo. “Obviously some dominoes have to fall for us to get to the championship, but we have as many in the East as anybody else,” Brandon said.

Looking aheadOhio presents the Falcons

with a challenge they faced in Miami and Northern Illinois — a tough defense. “They’re a solid defensive team,” Brandon said. “They’ve been a little snake-bit.” The snake-bit Brandon is referring to is Ohio’s inability to win close games. So far this season the Bobcats have lost three games of four-points or less. At the same time, BG has only been 1-3 in games decid-ed by a touchdown or less, but quarterback Tyler Sheehan thinks the team can win a close game. “We have a lot of momen-tum right now and I think that will help us in the game,” Sheehan said.

NOTES From Page 7

STATEWWW.BGNEWS.COM Tuesday, November 4, 2008 9

CONTEST RULES:Look for a new question on BGSU trivia every week in the BGNewsSubmit an answer on BGNews.com before Saturday each weekFor each correct answer you receive pointsAfter Thanksgiving Break, the person with the most points will be announced

WINNER GETS:A one time $500 shopping spree at SBX (not including textbooks)Must be spent before winter break

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LAST WEEKSQ & A

the first Olympic gold medal won by a BGSU student was in what sport?a)

b)

Basketball

Hockey

c)

d)

Track

Men’s Figure Skating

FALCON FACTSFOR FREE STUFF

Freddie, Mrs. Freddie Falcon, and Frieda all made their first public appearances in different years but at the same sporting event which was

a)

b)

Baseball

Basketball

c)

d)

Football

Hockey

Submit your answer at

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By Joe MiliciaThe Associated Press

LAKEWOOD — Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told a boisterous crowd in a Democratic suburb of Cleveland yesterday that “victory is coming.”

Hours later, in another part of Ohio, her Democratic coun-terpart made a different predic-tion to potential voters.

“They’re calling Barack Obama every name in the book,” Joe Biden told a crowd of about 500 in Zanesville. “Tomorrow night, they will have to call Barack Obama something else: the 44th president of the United States of America.”

Palin opened a grueling final day of the presidential cam-paign with an upbeat rally in Lakewood, which is part of a Democratic stronghold in northeast Ohio.

Likewise, Biden made his final appeal to economically hard-hit voters in Republican-leaning eastern Ohio, promis-ing to restore jobs and rebuild the middle class.

The swing state has 20 elec-toral votes that are crucial to Republican John McCain’s campaign.

Biden spoke amid fall foliage in a city park in the county seat of Muskingum County, which voted for President Bush in 2004. He promised that Democrat Barack Obama would restore jobs to Ohio and rebuild the middle class.

“Folks, it’s only 29 more hours,” he said. “I’ve never seen a time when America has been dug in such a deep hole.”

Polls show Ohio is too close to call with Obama carrying a slight lead or running neck and neck with McCain.

Although Obama-Biden signs far outnumbered those for McCain-Palin in Lakewood, the Alaska governor drew a noisy crowd that waved red pompoms during her appear-ance at the bandstand in Lakewood Park.

“This is the right place to be for us to kick off this final day of campaigning,” Palin said. “You can just feel it here in Ohio. Victory is com-ing. We can do this; we can win Ohio.”

“Do you share our com-mitment, and can we count on you tomorrow Ohio?” she asked.

The crowd responded with a “We will win!” chant.

The Lakewood appearance was the first of six rallies that Palin was to lead in five states on the day before Election Day. Biden planned to make a later appearance near Akron.

In Ohio where an Associated Press-GfK survey last week showed nine in 10 likely vot-ers fear for the economy, Palin concentrated on economic issues. She called Obama’s tax plan “phony” and questioned whether he would confine tax increases to the higher-income levels he has promised as a way to finance a middle class tax cut.

“Now is not the time to experiment with socialism,” Palin said. “Our opponent’s plan is just for bigger govern-ment.”

Palin emphasized the GOP ticket’s small government approach. She promised that McCain would balance the budget in four years and lower taxes for every American and business.

“We’ll impose a spending freeze to cover all but the most vital functions of government,” Palin said. “Now is the worst possible time to even think of raising taxes on you and our small businesses,” she said.

Palin, Biden fight final battle for Ohio votes

By Meghan Barr The Associated Press

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s voting machines will be tested tomor-row as poll workers prepare for an 80 percent turnout and the added work of having to scan thousands of absentee ballots cast during the month-long early voting period.

Many officials expect long lines despite new policies designed to counteract them.

Across the state, lawyers were standing by to contest yet-uncounted votes. Both Republican and Democratic lawyers were at the ready to file lawsuits over any perceived illegal activity.

Likewise, volunteers from both campaigns were set to stand near polling locations to hear complaints, and indepen-dent advocacy groups vowed to monitor any irregularities.

Long lines — particularly in urban areas — plagued Ohio’s election in 2004, with many vot-ers having to wait for hours to

cast a vote. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has said a number of policies should make things better tomorrow.

Ohio is putting more vot-ing machines in precincts that are expected to be the busi-est. Franklin County, which includes Columbus, has about twice as many touch-screen vot-ing machines this year as it did in 2004.

Also, officials in counties that use touch-screen machines are required to inform voters that they can use paper ballots if lines get too long. Brunner said voters coming in around noon on their lunch break may be unwilling to wait for more than 30 minutes.

Lines are “the big systemic issue that everyone is going to deal with,” said Aaron Ockerman, a lobbyist for the Ohio Association of Election Officials.

Early voting, which began Sept. 30, concluded yesterday. An estimated 1.5 million voters cast an absentee ballot during

that time, officials said.In Cleveland and Cuyahoga

County, which has a history of election problems, the line for early voting wrapped around two sides of the elections board building. Supporters of Democratic presidential nomi-nee Barack Obama walked the line offering help on how to cast the paper ballot.

“It was worth it,” said Clifton Clark, 31, of Cleveland, a barber and a Democrat who waited 80 minutes to vote for Obama.

Clark, who is black, said he told his 11-year-old son that Obama’s candidacy showed that the boy should aim high. “I told my son he can be anything he wants to be. Never limit your dreams,” Clark said.

Officials began scanning absentee ballots on Saturday, said Jane Platten, executive director of the Cuyahoga County elections board. Scanning will continue through Tuesday eve-ning but the ballots won’t be counted until the polls close at 7:30 p.m.

By Terry KinneyThe Associated Press

CINCINNATI — The number of vision correction surgeries per-formed by one of the nation’s largest Lasik providers contin-ues to plummet, mostly because money is tight and people are buying bread and milk rather than expensive cosmetic or elec-tive surgery, analysts say.

At LCA-Vision Inc., which operates 77 LasikPlus vision cor-rection centers in 33 states, the number of procedures is down by half from a year ago, and the company has slashed advertis-ing, cut staff and suspended dividends.

“It’s 99 percent the economy,” said analyst Peter Bye, who fol-lows the industry for Jefferies & Co. in New York.

“It’s very substitutable,” he said of Lasik. “Take the typical

customer, a 30-year-old or 35-year-old who has been wear-ing contacts for 15 years. If money’s tight, he says ‘I’ll do it next year.’”

The Food and Drug Administration heard testimo-ny in April from patients who said they experienced dryness, severe eye pain or blurred vision following Lasik surgery. But Bye didn’t think those hearings affected the industry much.

“In the spring, we heard a little bit of a blip, but it didn’t esca-late,” he said.

Lasik was one of the optional expenses that people started to forgo about a year ago, Bye said. And like vision correction, other cosmetic procedures such as botox injections and breast implants have fallen off.

Those industries will revive when the economy rebounds, he predicted, but vision correction “is probably not the first discre-tionary item that comes back.”

“Usually the first to go is last to come back,” he said.

Although surgeries at LCA-Vision centers have declined more than the industry overall, the company’s balance sheet is sound and the company should be able to wait out the down-turn, Bye said.

LCA-Vision said last week its LasikPlus procedures in the past three months were less than half the number during the same period a year ago.

Ohio’s policies prepared for voting rush

Lasik eye surgery numbers fall with economy

Many of the newly enacted policies are designed to combat long lines

“In the spring, we heard a little bit of a blip, but it didn’t

escalate.”Peter Bye | Analyst

TONY DEJAK | AP PHOTO

ON THE TRAIL: Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, spoke at a rally in Lakewood, yesterday. Palin opened a final day of campaigning by criticizing her opponent’s “phony” tax plan before a waving crowd in Ohio’s biggest Democratic stronghold.

10 Tuesday, November 4, 2008 WWW.BGNEWS.COM

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NATIONWWW.BGNEWS.COM Tuesday, November 4, 2008 11

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By Tim ParadisThe Associated Press

NEW YORK — Wall Street ended the calmest session in recent memory with a narrowly mixed performance yesterday as investors largely looked past a weak reading on the manu-facturing sector and focused on the election.

Before finishing essentially flat, the Dow Jones industrials moved in a range of 155 points — well below October’s aver-age daily swing of 594. While trading was quiet, including the often-volatile final hour, the calm doesn’t necessarily mean the market has overcome all its worries; analysts said inves-tors weren’t making big moves ahead of the voting.

Stocks showed little lasting impact from the Institute for Supply Management report that its measure of U.S. manufactur-ing dropped last month to the lowest level since September 1982 as credit conditions tight-ened and disruptions remained from Hurricane Ike. The trade group said its index of manufac-turing activity fell to 38.9 from 43.5 in September, well below the 41.5 economists predicted, according to Thomson/IFR.

A separate report showed construction spending fell by a smaller-than-expected amount in September as a rebound in nonresidential activity helped offset further weakness in home building. The Commerce Department said construc-tion spending fell by 0.3 per-cent in September, less than the 0.8 percent decline many economists expected.

Major auto companies reported weak sales for October yesterday as tight credit and nervousness about the economy kept consum-ers away from showrooms. General Motors Corp.’s U.S. sales plunged 45 percent,

Ford Motor Co.’s sales fell 30 percent, while Toyota Motor Corp.’s dropped 23 percent.

The range of data support the growing belief that the economy is in recession, hurt by a drop in lending and slow-er overall spending. But with the Dow having tumbled more than 14 percent in October — its worst month in 21 years — the market has priced in a significant falloff in economic activity. Wall Street must now determine whether the sell-off in stocks is adequate, not enough or overdone.

Stephen Massocca, co-chief executive of Pacific Growth Equities, said the economic readings weren’t a surprise given the hits the economy has taken from the evaporation of lending since September. He said Wall Street’s tepid reaction also reflects the market’s pro-cess of forming a bottom after its selloff. Investors are also waiting to make big bets until after the election, he said.

In addition, the fiscal year for mutual funds ended Friday, removing one source of sell-ing pressure from the market. Some funds had been selling last month ahead of Oct. 31 for tax purposes and to raise cash.

“What we’ve seen was a rally last week taking a dire depression off the table, and I think now what we have is a severe recession,” Massocca said. “By and large, the econ-omy is bad but it’s not as bad as many people think it is. There are still people going to work every day.”

Stocks end quietly just

before election“What we’ve seen is a rally last week taking a dire depression off

the table ...”Stephen Massocca | Executive

By Thomas WatkinsThe Associated Press

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The crime scene, alongside a busy freeway off-ramp, was shielded from view by dense brush and tangled tree limbs.

The victims — five people shot to death over the week-end at a spot inhabited by the homeless — were known largely by their nicknames or just their first names.

And Southern California’s first significant rain of the season may have washed away evidence.

Police in Long Beach are confronted with a baffling murder mystery.

“There is still a demon out there killing innocent people,” said Don Morgan, 58, who was friends with the victims. “Satan was here that day.”

Three men and two women were found slain Sunday in the seedy neighborhood of ware-houses and apartment buildings near the intersection of two free-ways. Some of the victims had been shot more than once.

An anonymous tipster called from a pay phone Sunday morn-ing and directed police to the scene. But even the time of the attack is in dispute: Some neigh-bors reported hearing gunfire, yelling and a car speeding off just after midnight, while the coroner said the crime occurred some-

time Saturday afternoon.Police said yesterday that

they had no eyewitnesses and no suspects and had yet to establish a motive for the slay-ings. But neighbors said people would often drop by to do drugs in the shadows underneath the freeway.

Investigators spent 12 hours collecting evidence, remov-ing dozens of bags of trash and belongings from the spot in hopes of finding clues. And they issued a plea for the anonymous caller to come forward in the hope that he had more information.

Gang graffiti was sprayed along a freeway bridge near the crime scene, and a drainage channel appeared to be the only way in and out of the spot.

“We have a tremendous amount of foliage out there,” Police Chief Anthony W. Batts said. “It’s very tough getting into.”

Authorities identified two of the victims as Vanessa Malaepule, 34, and Lorenzo Perez Villicana, 44. The others’ names were with-held until their families could be notified. Police said they had not determined how many of the vic-tims were homeless.

Morgan said he knew the vic-tims only by their first names or nicknames — LV, Vanessa, Cat, Sammy and Freddy. They liked to come to the site to party, he said.

Long Beach, Calif. police baffled by

homeless slayings

NICK UTE | AP PHOTO

A FRIEND MOURNS: Don Morgan, who said he was a friend of the five homeless victims who were found shot to death in a homeless encampment, looks at the scene in Long Beach.

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A man charged with fatally shooting a minister outside a northern Kentucky church will be held without bond.

Frederick Davis, 40, had an initial court appearance yester-day and the case was continued until Nov. 12 for a preliminary hearing, Kenton County Circuit Clerk John Middleton said.

Davis was charged with mur-der, assault, criminal mischief and violating a protection order. Police say he killed the Rev. Donald Fairbanks and wound-ed another man Saturday morning outside Ninth Street Baptist Church in Covington, where the two went to attend a funeral.

Davis’ attorney, Dennis Alerding Jr., said his client will plead not guilty, but declined to comment further.

Fairbanks, 62, was pastor of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Cincinnati, and the wounded man, Dowdell Cobb, was a deacon there.

Fairbanks and Cobb were shot just before 11 a.m. on Saturday, police said. The gun-man chased Fairbanks to a nearby park, where he shot him a second time, The Kentucky Enquirer reported.

Davis, of Covington, quickly surrendered to police.

Fairbanks was taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center where he died. Cobb is recov-ering at University Hospital in Cincinnati.

Fairbanks wife, Elizabeth Fairbanks, said yesterday she and her husband knew Davis “indirectly.”

“The only thing I can say about that is pastors come into contact with all kinds of people,” she said. “This is a sick man.”

Elizabeth Fairbanks said Davis had made threats against the couple because he was unhappy about some coun-seling the pastor had given him over the phone. She said she didn’t know details of the counseling.

Church killing: Kentucky man shoots and kills pastor

AKRON (AP) — Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said yesterday it sold fewer tires in the third quarter as the U.S. auto industry slowed down, but on average earned more for each tire and beat Wall Street’s earnings expectations.

Goodyear’s third-quarter earn-ings dropped sharply from a year ago, when it got a $517 million one-time lift from the sale of its Engineered Products unit.

Goodyear, the biggest U.S.-based tiremaker and third larg-est globally, said it earned $31 million, or 13 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, down from $668 million, or $2.75 per share, a year ago.

Its sales rose to $5.2 billion in the third quarter from sales of $5.1 billion.

While net sales increased 2 percent, the number of tires sold declined 12.4 percent as car man-ufacturing slowed and higher gas prices meant less driving and fewer tire replacements.

The latest earnings work out to 43 cents before one-time items, beating the 33 cents a share forecast by Wall Street

analysts whose estimates typi-cally exclude charges.

For the first nine months of the year, Goodyear earned $253 mil-lion, or $1.04 per share, on sales of $15.4 billion, down from nine-month 2007 earnings of $550 mil-lion, or $2.44 per share, on sales of $14.5 billion.

Third-quarter income from continuing operations was $31 million, or 13 cents per share, compared to $159 mil-lion or 67 cents for the same

period last year.Goodyear made more money

per tire as a better mix of expen-sive high-end tires offset increased costs for raw materials.

Revenue per tire, excluding for-eign currency issues, increased 8 percent over the 2007 quarter.

“The tire industry is facing challenging business conditions as the global financial crisis and slowing economic conditions are impacting consumer demand in all regions. Our results reflect the economic reality of weakened industry demand and the associ-ated cost impact of production cuts we initiated during the quar-ter,” said Robert J. Keegan, chair-man and chief executive officer.

Third-quarter charges includ-ed items related to closing of plants and some retail outlets and health-care trust expenses.

Goodyear shares rose 48 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $9.40 yesterday. They have traded in a 52-week range of $7.75 to $30.79.

Goodyear has about 70,000 employees and makes products in more than 60 factories in 26 countries.

Bad year for Goodyear: company reports a slowdown making hole in profits

PAUL SAKUMA | AP PHOTO

PILES OF TIRES: Goodyear tires on dis-play at a shop in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Circuit City tries to keep going

amidst closingsBy Michael Felberbaum

The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. — As the lights go out at about 20 per-cent of Circuit City’s stores, the company is hoping that by closing hundreds of stores and cutting thousands of jobs it can survive consumers who are reluctant to spend and vendors less eager to give it credit.

But analysts say the moves announced yesterday renewed the specter of bankruptcy hanging over the nation’s No. 2 consumer electronics retailer heading into a holiday shopping season that could determine its future.

In Ohio, 11 stores will close: six in northeast Ohio, three in the Columbus area and one each in Mansfield and Cincinnati.

“Clearly, [Circuit City] is frantically working to keep itself alive,” JP Morgan analyst Christopher Horvers wrote in a note to investors.

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‘Joe’ goes internationalWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The prime minis-ter of New Zealand found her own version of Ohio’s “Joe the Plumber” on the campaign trail Friday.

Prime Minister Helen Clark was campaigning at a retire-ment home in the northern city of Auckland when a visit-ing plumber, Morgan Luxton, asked her how her Labour party would help the self-employed.

Clearly aware of the now-

famous American tradesman Joe the Plumber, Clark slipped the word “plumber” into her response nearly a dozen times.

Luxton later said he was “a bit embarrassed” because he was the only plumber in the room.

Luxton, an undecided voter, said he was leaning toward vot-ing for Clark’s center-left Labour Party in the Nov. 8 elections after voting for the center-right main opposition National Party in the last elections.

America’s Joe the Plumber, whose real name is Samuel J. “Joe” Wurzelbacher, 34, of Holland, Ohio, shot to national attention when he questioned Democratic presidential candi-date Barack Obama about his tax policies. Republican presi-dential hopeful John McCain repeatedly cites Joe the Plumber in his speeches, saying Obama’s plan would hurt people like him who want to own their own businesses.

‘Plumber’ reference used by New Zealand’s prime minister

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A library book checked out from a Tulsa high school in 1947 has been returned — with a $250 check to cover overdue fees.

Holland Hall School librar-ian Betty Niver says the book “New Word Analysis: Or School Etymology of English Derivative Words” was mailed to the school by Martha McCabe Jarrett.

Jarrett, of Venice, Fla., was Martha McCabe, a sopho-more, when she signed out the book 61 years ago at what was then Holland Hall School for Girls. She recent-ly found it while clean-ing out her other home in Rome, Ohio.

“It was just there, with the things I enjoy and my kids don’t,” she said Friday.

In a note sent with the book, she included the check to pay any fines. But she wasn’t sure how she wound up with the book. “I don’t know if it was something the library was getting rid of, or my Latin teacher had given me, or if I just kept it,” she said.

“I sent it back just because I value the education I got at that school,” she said.

School officials said they were not sure what they will do with the $250 because there is no specific over-due book fund. It might be put toward student scholarships.

ATLANTA (AP) — A Delta bag-gage worker got a bit of a fright before Halloween when she opened a jetliner’s cargo door and found a cheetah running loose amid the luggage.

Two cheetahs were being flown in the cargo area of a Boeing 757 passenger flight from Portland, Ore., to Atlanta on Thursday when one escaped from its cage, Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said Friday.

“They told us a large animal had gotten out of a container in the cargo hold and they were having to send some-one to tranquilize it,” said one passenger, Lee Sentell of Montgomery, Ala.

He said luggage was delayed, but baggage handlers prom-ised to send his bags to him in Alabama.

The good news for passen-gers: The escaped cheetah didn’t damage any of their luggage.

The airline summoned help from Zoo Atlanta, and experts rushed to a closed airport hangar and tranquilized the escaped animal and took both big cats to the zoo.

Both 1-year-old female chee-tahs were on their way from the Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Ore., to the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee, Memphis Zoo spokesman Drew Smith said in an e-mail. He said the two cheetahs will stay a few days at the zoo in Atlanta until the Memphis Zoo gets a team together to fetch them.

The cheetahs are on loan to the Memphis Zoo, but Smith said he wasn’t sure how long they would stay there.

It is never too late to make

things right

Cheetah gets loose on plane, gives worker a scare

ODD NEWSBRIEFCouple working in India fly to New York to vote

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City couple has traveled halfway around the world in the name of civic duty.

Susan Scott-Ker and her husband arrived in New York on Wednesday after flying 9,300 miles to vote in today’s presidential election.

They have been working in India but decided to return to New York when their absentee ballots failed to arrive. Their trip began in Bangalore with stop-overs in New Delhi and Chicago.

It will be their first time voting in a presidential election. The New Zealand-born Scott-Ker and her Morroco-born husband became American citizens a year ago.

They estimate the trip will cost $5,000.

BG NEWS WIRE SOURCES

‘Subprime’ seessuccess on the race track

NEW YORK (AP) — The mortgage problems that have helped shape the cur-rent economic downturn have made “sub-prime” an unwelcome word to investors.

For gamblers, however, Subprime drew cheers this week. That was the name of a horse that won the ninth race Thursday at the Aqueduct race track in New York.

It was the first win in three tries for the 2-year-old filly, but the name made her an instant crowd darling.

The horse ran as the favorite and paid $6.30 on a $2 bet.

Maybe it’s a family connection. Subprime was sired by a stallion with another name inspired by Wall Street: High Yield.

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