With the fall Student Council representative elections quickly approaching, the candidates are stepping their campaigns into high gear.

Polls will open for voting on Monday and will remain open through Wednesday.

Eleven official candidates are vying for four College positions, while no official candidates are running for the one Engineering position.

Campaign issues range from solving the problems of off-Grounds housing to University safety issues. One candidate advocates a living wage for University employees.

Student Council President Micah Schwartz said midterm elections are beneficial to the student body because they allow for new concerns to be addressed by the competing candidates.

“I am pleased to see so many students running in this election,” Schwartz said. “The quantity of candidates will ensure a heated election, and I am confident that the most deserving students will emerge victorious.”

Schwartz also noted how the fall elections are a good trial run for the four first years and two transfers who are running.

Council Elections Chair Julie Teater emphasized that the lack of an Engineering candidate does not necessarily mean that the position will be vacant.

“Three or four people have shown interest in running and can thus run a write-in campaign,” she said.

Write-in candidates still can receive endorsements from organizations but cannot post their biography on the Council Web site. Write-in candidates only have to beat their opponents by a margin of 10 votes to win.

Citing historically low fall voter turn out, Council Chief of Staff Sarah Jobe stressed how imperative voting is to the University’s principles of self-government.

“It’s really important to understand that Student Council is [the students'] voice,” Jobe said. “We’re only effective if students make their voice heard.”

Council Executive Vice President Ronnie Mayhew also said students need to vote.

“Twenty percent of the College’s representatives will be elected next week and that amount can often sway the outcome of legislation,” he said.

The 11 students running for the College representative are Eli DeJarnette, Sarah Dhere, Kate Higbee, Bill Keithler, David Reid, Wyatt Robinson, Brian Siebenburger, Tiffany Valeriano, Michael Patrick Wade, Tyler Wasilition and Ruthie Yow.

Teater said students can vote online at www.uvastudentcouncil.com/vote beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday until 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Members of the University community weighed in on next week’s elections last night with Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato and members of the College Republicans and University Democrats. The discussions took place in a lecture hall in the Physics Building.

First, Sabato, the University’s resident political prognosticator, offered his “Crystal Ball” predictions for Tuesday’s elections.

With both houses of Congress narrowly divided between Democrats and Republicans, the elections will determine who controls the Senate and the House for the next two years.

The Republicans likely will retain or even expand their majority in the House, Sabato said.

“It’s looking like they may gain seats,” he said.

The dicennial redistricting process is one factor influencing this year’s House races. After the 2000 Census, all of the nation’s 435 House seats were redrawn using the new data.

“The Republicans got a bump of exactly three seats” from redistricting, Sabato said.

Unlike in previous years, however, redistricting has not produced a large field of competitive races in this election cycle.

There are only 30 competitive House races and eight true tossups in the nation, Sabato said.

While the Republicans appear likely to retain the House, the Senate is much harder to predict, Sabato said.

“The Democrats have the slightest paper thin edge to control the Senate,” Sabato said.

Currently, there are 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans and one Independent in the Senate.

Louisiana’s quirky election law may prevent anyone from knowing who controls the Senate on Election Day, Sabato said.

In Louisiana, if no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote, then the two leading candidates are thrown into a runoff.

If the incumbent Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu does not reach the 50 percent threshold, then Senate control could potentially depend on the December runoff.

“It could be 2000 all over again,” Sabato said.

The Democrats are likely to gain three to seven gubernatorial seats and the nation is likely to elect a historic number of woman governors, he said.

After Sabato spoke, the University Democrats and College Republicans participated in a debate in which they analyzed high profile elections and offered reasons why voters should support their respective parties.

University Democrats President Ian Amelkin said he thought the recession and the decline of the stock market would lead voters to embrace Democratic positions on social security and the economy.

College Republicans Chairman Ben Beliles disagreed, however, saying, “We will get past this recession that we inherited from Bill Clinton.”

Republicans are likely to benefit from the Iraq issue, given that the war resolution passed both houses of Congress by wide margins, Beliles said.

Amelkin disagreed.

“I believe that the American people, whether they support the war or not, want an open dialogue,” he said.

With Election Day just around the corner, Gov. Mark R. Warner and University President John T. Casteen III are reiterating their support of the proposed statewide higher education bond that will appear on ballots this Tuesday.

If a majority of voters favor the bond referendum, it will provide funds totaling over $900 million to pay for capital projects for Virginia’s state-supported colleges, universities and museums.

“The governor has been supportive of the bond referendum,” Warner spokeswoman Ellen Qualls said. “It is a good time to take advantage of low interest rates and make long-term investments.”

Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Education Peter Blake also expressed support for the bond referendum.

“If the state wants to make long-term capital investments, the best and cheapest way to do this is through a general obligation bond,” Blake said.

In a final attempt to mobilize voters and support for the referendum, Casteen will conduct radio and television presentations on Nov. 4, the day before elections. He also will send out one or two e-mails reminding faculty and staff to vote.

“The schedule for Monday and Tuesday is somewhat open because we are allowing as much time as possible for last-minute contacts that might make a difference,” Casteen said.

If passed, part of the bond referendum will be used to fund construction and renovation for the state’s universities and colleges, such as the expansion of classrooms and labs to accommodate an expected increase in higher education enrollment, Blake said.

“We are expecting a 10 percent increase in enrollment rates over the next 10 years,” Qualls said. “If we don’t take advantage of the bond, we will miss a good opportunity and risk falling behind in research and development.”

The bond referendum will issue a specific amount to each college and university. The University is designated to receive over $68 million for nine different building projects, according to University spokeswoman Louise Dudley.

A recent poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc. indicates, however, that University officials might not have much to worry about.

The poll, conducted by telephone last weekend, found that 57 percent of 625 randomly selected voters said they would vote in favor of the bond referendum. The poll had a 4 percent sampling error.

“The poll showed that support was strong throughout the state,” Mason-Dixon Managing Director J. Bradford Coker said. “Support was strongest in the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads areas, but there was a majority of favor in every region of the state.”

Coker said the bond referendum most likely will pass.

“There was a pretty sizeable majority indicating that people will vote yes,” he said. “You really need to have your vote over 50 percent to have a chance, but I would suspect that based on these numbers this bond will pass.”

With reservoir levels steadily increasing to over 75 percent as of yesterday, Charlottesville City and Albemarle County officials decided to re-evaluate some water restrictions, including those hindering normal car wash operations.

County car washes will be able to return to full operation immediately, though car wash owners in the city must apply to the Department of Public Works for exception from the city’s conservation ordinance.

Jim Palmborg, Charlottesville public utilities manager, said all car wash owners still must produce plans for a 20 percent reduction in water usage, like any other business operating in the city. Those car washes without a reduction plan will not be allowed to reopen.

Palmborg said car wash owners can reopen for business immediately after appeals are approved by the director of public works.

The appeals process is not limited to car washes, Palmborg added. Any business or residence can apply for exception.

The appeals process gives the city flexibility, should drought conditions flare up again soon, City Council member Kevin Lynch said.

“The appeals system gives public works the opportunity to go back to restrictions if necessary,” Lynch said. “I’d be hesitant to change the ordinance since we’ve had four years of dry weather.”

During their next meeting on Monday, Council will discuss the possibility of lifting even more of the water restrictions, Lynch said.

In both the County and City, which have implemented similar restriction plans, citizens still may not water lawns, fill pools, wash driveways or run ornamental fountains.

Bill Brent, executive director of the Albemarle County Service Authority, said he hopes “open car washes don’t serve as an indication to the community that the crisis is over.”

Local car wash owners are keeping this in mind as they prepare to reopen, according to Paul Sisk, general manager of the locally based Tiger Fuel Company.

Sisk, whose company operates three car washes in the area, said he was “very excited” by yesterday’s developments and viewed the crisis as a “learning experience” for his business in finding creative methods to conserve water.

Still, Sisk estimates the restrictions have cost Tiger Fuel operated car washes $100,000 for the transportation of outside water, absorption of inactive employees’ salaries and lost business.

“We feel like we should have been treated like any other business to begin with” in being allowed to remain open, he said.

The Charlottesville and Albemarle region draws water from four reservoirs at Sugar Hollow, Upper and Lower Ragged Mountain and the South Fork of the Rivanna River.

Although the South Fork reservoir is now full to capacity, those at Sugar Hollow and Ragged Mountain remain down 13 and 11 feet, respectively.

Palmborg said water authorities now are attempting to draw most water from the South Fork reservoir to allow the other three to return to their normal capacity.

Yesterday, the region’s cumulative water supply stood at 75.9 percent.The supply has steadily increased for the past several days.

Brent said county officials will drop phase two restrictions, which include hotels being required to reduce laundry service, if the water supply reaches and stays at a minimum of 85 percent for seven days.

Phase one restrictions, including bans on lawn watering and offering water in restaurants, will not be dropped “until the [Service Authority's] Board determines the crisis is over,” Brent said.

Total water usage in the City and County has been reduced from an average of 11 million gallons per day before officials started to call for conservationto 6.7 million gallons on Tuesday, he said.

“The community has responded tremendously,” Brent said. “I didn’t expect we’d reduce the level so much.”

Candidates for Maryland’s governor debate gun law

Less than a week before Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend faces Republican opponent Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in a neck-and-neck race for Maryland’s governor seat, the candidates are speaking out about a proposed law that would strengthen restrictions on gun sales.

Townsend said she would like to expand the authority of Maryland’s Handgun Roster Board, which currently is able to restrict only handguns because of a loophole in the state’s law.

Townsend’s recommendation would allow the board to ban the sale of assault weapons as well, including the Bushmaster semiautomatic that authorities believe the two snipers used to conduct their October attacks.

Ehrlich said he is willing to support a system of monitoring gun sales if it proves effective. He drew criticism and suffered in the polls earlier in the campaign for questioning the effectiveness of the board.

Two Warners make last push for sales tax vote

Both Gov. Mark R. Warner and Sen. John W. Warner teamed up yesterday in Northern Virginia to promote the sales tax referendum, which will raise $5 billion for transportation over the next two decades if it passes.

The two politicians, who are of different political parties, taped a television ad yesterday morning on a bridge overlooking I-66, which was congested with morning traffic at the time.

The referendum proposes that sales tax in Northern Virginia be raised from 4.5 percent to 5 percent in order to generate funds to alleviate the widespread traffic problems in the area.

The Warners, who ran against each other for John Warner’s Senate seat in 1996, have teamed up on several occasions to promote the referendum.

– Compiled by Chris Wilson

Concerned that their organizations’ memberships are too homogeneous, some student leaders are making a push to diversify their ranks.

Although overt discrimination largely has vanished at the University, some students said they believe their groups need to work to create a more inviting atmosphere for minorities.

Black Student Alliance President Tyler Scriven said he felt that the burden of recruiting minority members into an organization fell both on the groups themselves and the minority students.

“It’s a two-way street,” Scriven said. The burden “falls on both of us.”

Student Council President Micah Schwartz said he thought the responsibility of recruiting minority members should fall on organization leaders.

“Because of the current composition [of Council], it may not look inviting to minority students,” Schwartz said. “We don’t want to give off the wrong impression.”

Schwartz said he will be attending both the Black Student Alliance and Latino Student Union meetings next week to try to spark interest in Council.

The uninviting atmosphere of some organizations is largely due to a lack of consciousness about the issue, according to fourth-year College student Timothy Lovelace, the student representative to the Board of Visitors.

“Student organizations aren’t necessarily excluding minorities, it’s just that lack of cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity leads to an environment where minority students don’t feel welcome,” Lovelace said. “Student organizations need to evaluate how welcoming their secular environment is.”

Lovelace said that once student organizations reach out, minority students will respond.

“Minority students will join if the active recruitment and welcoming environment are present,” Lovelace said.

Scriven agreed that many student groups do not present a friendly exterior to all students.

“When there are students interested in joining an organization, they’re not always met with a welcoming environment,” he said.

Scriven also added that he does not believe the unwelcoming atmosphere is intentional.

Some organizations prefer that minority students take the initiative. College Republicans President Ben Beliles said he prefers “to see individual minority students reach out in a variety of ways.”

If individual minority students take the initiative to join predominantly white organizations, they will be able to interact with student organizations on a much more intimate basis than if they waited for special attention, Beliles said. He added that because the College Republicans often are perceived as a group composed solely of white males, he has tried to create an environment that is accepting to all students.

University Democrats President Ian Amelkin says his organization hasn’t experienced problems with diversity.

The number of black members in the University Democrats is “in line with the number of African-Americans on campus,” Amelkin said.

Amelkin pointed out that his organization across the country tends to be a pro-minority group, and because of this they do not need to specifically recruit minorities to maintain diversity.

If you were counting on the drought to shut down school and get you out of your Chemistry final, it looks like you’re out of luck. As of yesterday, the Charlottesville reservoir is at nearly 76 percent capacity, and more rain is in the forecast. Charlottesville city and Albemarle county officials’ recent decision to lift strict restrictions on businesses relying heavily on water usage — like car washes — is a good one. In light of the much improved water supply situation, city officials meeting on Monday to discuss further changes should ease more regulations that impose burdens on Charlottesville denizens while encouraging area residents to keep conserving.

City officials should be commended for lifting restrictions that harmed business’s bottom lines. However, now that the reservoir’s current percentage level of capacity is what Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority calls normal and not severe, the city should go further to lift strict restrictions imposed in drier days. Area residents should be allowed to start watering lawns and filling pools again.

Certainly, Charlottesville residents should not go overboard with the sprinkler use. Some of the water conservation regulations should be kept in place, such as the use of low-flow toilets and showerheads and requiring businesses to post signs reminding citizens to conserve water. These are sensible water-saving measures that don’t impose undue burdens on anyone and are a good idea no matter what reservoir water levels look like.

But desperate times have passed, and strict restrictions on watering and car-washing are no longer necessary. Charlottesville residents are more conscious about conservation and likely will continue to do what they can to keep water usage down even if formal regulations are lifted.

The ability to withdraw from a class is a blessing for any student who finds, after the add/drop deadline, that a certain class is simply proving to be too difficult for him or her. Students may get an ugly “W” on their transcripts, but the withdrawal option allows them to escape an overwhelming course with their GPAs intact.

However, this crucial escape hatch can be rendered useless when professors schedule their assignment due dates and exams in such a way that no part of a student’s grade has been determined at the time the withdrawal deadline passes. For students in the College of Arts & Sciences, the withdrawal deadline was last week, almost two full months into the semester.

One would expect that, by this point in the academic calendar, many students have a good idea of what their grade will end up being in a course and whether they can handle the level of difficulty of the course material. Some professors, however, schedule the first papers and tests of the semester to be turned in or administered as late as the week before or of the withdrawal deadline.

Students may receive grades back on substantial assignments only after the deadline passes and find — to their dismay, and too late — that they have done poorly on an assignment that is a large part of their grade, have no chance of pulling it up and are stuck in the class.

Most students will take a “W” over a “D” or “F” any day. Out of consideration for their students, professors should design their course schedules so that students can have a good idea of how they are doing in a class before the withdrawal deadline passes.

IT’S COMING — five days out and counting. Make sure the stamp is firmly affixed to that absentee ballot and get it in the mail drop-box before the end of the day. Election Day is around the corner. This column a week ago explained that Virginia’s congressional contests were nothing worth writing home about, but left it at that. Curious minds contested the unsubstantiated claim, and therefore deserve a more deliberate account of how the incumbents are all headed back to the District. But, predicting a lopsided shutout is never exciting, so we will take a stab at all the questions facing Virginians next Tuesday.

Now, what does it mean when a statewide politician is so popular that the Democratic Party doesn’t field a candidate to contest you? Two things: Your name is John Warner and you’re going back to the Senate for six more years. As anyone who has seen him in action will attest, Big John has still got the silver tongue and grip-and-grin charisma that endears this senior Senator to the hearts of the Commonwealth’s Democrats and Republicans alike. All 11 Congressmen are going back. Here’s why:

In the First District, which covers most of the rural Chesapeake Bay area, Democrat Jo Ann Davis has no opponent.

Down in Hampton Roads in the Second, Republican Ed Schrock was saved from a rematch of the 2000 match up with Jody Wagner when Governor Mark R. Warner appointed her Treasurer of Virginia. The Democrats had no second choice, so Schrock runs unopposed — if you ignore the Green Party candidate, whom you should.

In the Third, Democrat Bobby Scott is unopposed. The only African-American in the Virginia Congressional delegation, Scott will benefit from redistricting two years ago and will easily be reelected.

In the Fourth, Republican Steve Forbes also was saved from a rematch of his 2001 Special Election against Louise Lucas. Lucas initially registered with the State Board of Elections but has since withdrawn from the race. Forbes is now unopposed.

The Fifth district finally shows some hints of a contest. The party-jumping Virgil (pronounced Verr-jeel by this Pittsylvania County good ol’ boy) Goode is far enough ahead in the polls to be considered a sure thing in this extremely rural, conservative district. He was first elected as an Old-School yellow dawg Democrat (that is he was a Republican in Democrat’s clothing), then switched to Independent, and this past year officially registered as a Republican. Former Charlottesville Councilwoman Meredith Richards will make Goode sweat a bit as she reels in the Charlottesville African-American vote, but the numbers won’t be enough to put her over the top.

The Sixth is another no-show for the Democrats, so it seems Roanoke Republican Bob Goodlatte is headed back to D.C., despite a self-imposed term limit when he was first elected. Those things went out of style in the 90s anyway.

A colorful and fun race is underway in the Seventh between Republican Eric Cantor and Ben “Cooter” Jones. Cooter is notorious among tobacco-spitting, overall wearing, and syndicated TV-watchers everywhere from his days as a star on Dukes of Hazzard. Parts of this district are backwater enough to give Cooter a chance, but overall it’s so conservative that Cantor will walk all over him in the end.

In the Eighth, Democrat Jim Moran worked hard to turn a sure re-election into a contest after serious borrowing improprieties became well-known this past summer. Fortunately for him, the corporate scandal feeding frenzy evaporated and with it any substantial challenge to this Northern Virginian’s seat by Republican Scott Tate.

The Katzen campaign imploded in the Ninth District. Last year’s Lt. Gubernatorial reject, Jay Katzen, should have made a better showing in this panhandle-Virginia district. Instead, Eric Boucher has this one wrapped up.

Republican Frank Wolf is faced by John Stevens in the Tenth, a heavily conservative, Suburban Northern Virginia district. Redistricting spoils will give Wolf an added margin to an already sure re-election.

Finally, in the Eleventh, Tom Davis gets a free ride across the Potomac, as he is virtually unopposed in his Urban Northern Virginia district. Nobody has heard of his opponent, Frank Creel, or the Constitution party on whose ticket he is running.

What about the bonds and referenda questions? Everybody’s favorite mustachioed Virginia political oracle (let’s call him Larry S., wait no, L. Sabato) says all the bonds pass, as well as the Hampton Roads Transportation Referendum. The NOVA referendum is a 50-50 toss-up. Unfortunately, I think this is optimistic. From tracing the media and talking to my folks at home in Norfolk, I think the Hampton Roads version may just have a prayer, though the margin of victory will be paper-thin. Conservative Virginia Beach alone could kill this one, though. The NOVA question is going to go down, and go down hard. Despite massive cash and lots of big names tied to the initiative, the anti-tax organization is awesome. Low turnout from “yes” voters will probably result in a big loss for this referendum.

Nationally, the Democrats are going to keep the Senate, in some part thanks to Bob Torricelli dropping out in Jersey. The Minnesota tragedy will bring in sympathy for the Democratic candidate there, as well. However, the Democrats need a miracle to take the House. If there is a change, Virginia won’t have anything to do with it. Final verdict: this politics major expects a split Congress next year.

The Governor could care less about the Congressional election, just like most of the public. But if he is to have any political capital left for the rest of his term, at least some of those referenda have to pass. If not, the legislature will have a very clear mandate that taxes are politically unpalatable, not to mention the low priority of education and park construction. Tuesday night will bring an answer. Cross your fingers. I’ll be watching.

(Preston Lloyd’s column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at plloyd@cavalierdaily.com.)

NO ONE who is working full-time should be living in poverty. This is a very basic concept of the American Dream: people who work hard day in and day out should be able to support their family and enjoy a decent standard of living. Sadly, people who work at the University for companies like Aramark and Morrison’s can’t do that because the University does not guarantee a living wage to all direct and contract workers. These are people whose faces we see when they feed us in the dining halls and take care of us in the hospital, and who are a part of our community.

According to one recent study, the self sufficiency standard in Charlottesville for a two adult family supporting one infant and one preschooler was calculated at $41,862 per year, or $9.91 an hour, per adult (www.vakids.org). Nevertheless, Charlottesville residents who work for companies like Aramark are making as little as $7.25 an hour.

Poverty affects not only a family’s basic needs budget, but also its ability to invest in things like heath care and education for its children. When someone cannot support themselves or their families on one full-time job, they are often forced to take second and even third jobs, dramatically increasing the number of work hours in a week. Every extra hour a parent has to spend away from home is an hour they cannot spend with their family. Parents have less time to read to their children or help them with homework, much less prepare a healthy meal. It is wrong that the people who feed us every day in Newcomb can’t afford to pay their bills and provide a healthy diet for their own family. If we really do care about basic family values, we must enact a living wage so that no child is left behind. We have a social responsibility to uphold the dignity of others by giving them their just due; the living wage is a right, not a privilege.

Contrary to what many critics say, there are economic as well as moral arguments for the living wage.Studies have shown that paying a living wage reduces employee turnover, thereby increasing efficiency and cutting training costs. It has been shown that many businesses are able to absorb the added cost of higher wages through the longer term benefits they bring to the company (“What’s so bad about a living wage?” Business Week, Sept. 4, 2000). More and more economists agree with Michigan State University Profesor David Neumark that “living wages actually reduce poverty” and that “if someone’s getting up on a soapbox and saying these are a disaster, they may believe it, but there’s really no evidence” (“National study concludes that ‘living wage’ reduces poverty,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 14).

Furthermore, there is a glaring discrepancy in the logic of those who argue that wages should be left up to purely market forces. Many who argue against the living wage say the market should not be “artificially” manipulated, while at the same time supporting government subsidies and tax incentives to attract business investment. To argue that government should take a proactive role in support of business initiatives and economic development, but that the living wage is bad because it distorts the market, is both logically contradictory and morally bankrupt. Moreover, it should be stressed that when companies like Aramark pay their employees poverty wages, they place an extra burden on taxpayers. University workers below the poverty level are eligible for social support in the form of housing subsidies, food stamps and other basic social services. It is a betrayal of the American Dream that full-time workers must rely on government assistance.

From an economic perspective, the demand by living wage proponents of $8.65 an hour plus health insurance is a conservative one. American economic productivity grew 74.2 percent between 1968 and 2000 and “the minimum wage would have been $13.80 in 2000 — not $5.15 — if it had kept pace with productivity,” according to a book called “Raise the floor” by Sklar, Holly and Laryssa Mykyta, and Susan Wefald. The staggering deflation in the purchasing power of the American working poor is detrimental to both local and national economies, and it demonstrates a criminal neglect in public policy for the plight of the working poor.

There are concrete steps we can take to help in the fight against poverty. President John T. Casteen III, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Leonard Sandridge, and the Board of Visitors should include a living wage requirement as a stipulation for bids on all University contracts. Student Council should pass a resolution supporting a living wage policy for everyone that services the University community. With hard work and sensible policies, we can realize the American Dream by ensuring that everyone working full-time can support themselves and their families.

(Nicholas Graber-Grace is an organizer of the living wage campaign.)