University of California Los Angeles - Bruin Life / Southern Campus Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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Uncenauity By Kevin Lee WlSlWBlin Extremely tense election day produces no clear winner APAVIDE WORLD PHOTOS Voting Americans wmting late into the night on Nov. 7, 2000 witnessed the most bizarre results to ever come about in recent presidential election histon ' . Before the final electoral college count came in, the two candidates, Al Gore and George W. Bush, were in astl ' different dispositions. Bush was relaxed, sitting comfortably in the Governor ' s Mansion in Te.xas alongside his wife and his parents, former President George Bush senior and Barbara Bush, watching the results toll in on the tele ision screen. On the East Coast, Al Gore was fervently making phone calls, trying to muster as many votes as possible in his favor. The final results came in around 2 a.m.: George W. Bush had won the electoral college vote. Yet this was only the beginning of a tumultuous series of events that will go dovvoi in the history hooks. Even though presidential candidate George W. Bush had technically won the election based on the electoral college, a few hours later, election officials from the state of Florida announced that diere would be a mandatory recount since Bush had won the state ' s popular ' ote by such a slim margin. Soon after, Al Gore ' s lawyers added to the fray bv bringing to the public ' s attention the Butterfly Ballots used in a number of Florida counties, which many Floridian voters considered excessively confusing due to its condensed and narrow layout. Bewildered voters punched the hole for the wrong candidate, or even punched two holes, which automatically disqualified their ballot. Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan recei ' ed a large number of votes on account of the mis- voting with the butterfly ballots. As a result, Gore ' s lawyers declared it in the interest of justice that Florida election officials recount the ballots by hand in order to remedy voters ' George W. Bush speaks to his supporters at the Family Arena in St. Charles in Missouri on Thursday, November 2, 2000. All around the nation, political excitment was in the air during the days before the election. mistakes. Chris Butcher, a third year euNdronmental studies student, did not agree in the efficacy of the hand recount. This whole Florida mess most likely wasted millions of taxpayers ' dollars and will sadly accomplish nothing but put Bush back again in the Presidential seat, commented Butcher On the other side. Bush ' s law) ' ers said a hand recount would be completely unfair, citing that while machines have preference of who no votes for whom, people doing the hand recounts do, thus removing the objectivity of die election process. The Itihmik (f Q av d reco Av is AV fdw beca A5e v esjer e ec OY em am eiecuon i j li j i i lawyers ( IW S St lStlC I demanded diat all hand- Y COm5 eV C e5, It 5e 5 a bad precedev for f A we e ec ov 5 - AaroKi Ma Political Science 4t(n bjear recounted ballots be thrown out. Aaron Ma, a fourth year political science student, also felt that the hand recount was unjust. I think the hand recount is unfair because in every election there are always statistical inconsistencies, said Ma. It sets a bad precedent for future elections. Toward the end of November, the Florida Supreme Court finally concluded that Bush had officially won Florida ' s majority vote. However, the Florida Supreme court then ordered a recount of over 40,000 undervotes, spurring Bush to appeal to die U.S. Supreme Court and causing the entire election process to again fall into uncharted waters of the legal system. It wasn ' t till the end middle of December before Gore conceded and Bush was declared the official winner of this rollercoaster election. ELECTION 29

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Vice Prcsiilenl Al Goic. the Denioeratie candidate for the President of the Lhiited Slates, addresses his supporters, many of v honi were UCLA students, in Westwood Village. His eleventh hour stop lo the politically active city created a niob of support. SKOOO lfch ' t. ' j APAVIDt; WORLD PHOTOS Lynn Nishimura Lynn . ' ishimura Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush holds up a W during a campaign rally at Raymond Jones Stadium in Tampa. Florida on November 5. 2000. Florida turned out to be a key state in the decision for president. • Actors clap and hold signs up supporting the Gore-Lieberman team. A number of prominent enteilainment personalities such as Cher and Whoopi Goldberg were on hand promoting the Democratic campaign for the White House. • UCLA students cheer for the Goie campaign in Westwood Village. Many students took advantage of Gore ' s campaign stop in Westwood to experience the 2000 Presidential race firsthand. 28 EVENTS

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Indecision 2000 leFB ruins and Americans everywhere confused and frustrated By Ashleigh Lonson lw Aer 1 ??? m As Indecision 2000 splashed all over newspapers and and dominated news headlines, American citizens waited in frantic anticipation for the verdict to be reached. But as the days and then the weeks wore on, frankly, they began to lose interest. Would someone just pick a president already?! The 2000 Presidential Elections were, without a doubt, some of the most controversial elections in American political history. With two ambitious candidates, citizens knew the election would be close. No one could ever have guessed how close it really would be. As the East Coast polls began to close on November 7th, it became painfully clear that this election was going to come down to die wire. And, as the ballot count in Florida was announced then reannounced, it was obvious that neither Bush nor Gore was going to take defeat lying down. So die Florida recount and hand count, and every other count began, Americans waited patiently for the system to work. Would our votes really be null and void and our next president be elected by a panel of judges? It seemed so undemocratic. But in the end. Bush was finally declared to have won the electoral vote. It was about time. UCLA students reflected on this momentous election and gave their opinions on the consequences of Indecision 2000. I tf]W] k it ' s a ven 5ad dm, for democracy) N m (f e dec 5 ov is iefr Ap oa pam ofudqes - l Ake Walter Applied Mcft(nematic5 4t(q ear People are qiAestbmg ( e mpot m ce of (f e e ec![om coWeqe as a resMit of all of t is, It ' s all partisai , - Liz Biair Comm AY ca ov Studies 4t(i L ear .. It ' s nee (f a it ' s final I ij over, A feco AV woMld i ' t realliy) be fair, Hopefi ili i Gofe doesn ' t sfow up next L ear, - Miclnaei AnderseKi Aerospace EKigiKieerJKig 2Kid L ear (fmk I ' ve lost interest, I tt ini we sfeMid Ji ist let t(ie SLjstem do wi ot it (f a5 to do and wait it OMt, - ' }em fef C aY g P(iL)sioiogicai Science 4t(o ear 30 EVENTS