University of Louisiana Monroe - Chacahoula Yearbook (Monroe, LA)

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Joel Waller a A battle fo ouisiana voters will L have a tough decision to make this fall when going to the polls to choose the Bayou State’s next governor. Will the majority cast their votes for the grey-haired, sil- ver-tongued Cajun charmer, (alias former governor Edwin Edwards); or will the more conservative pick incumbent Dave Treen, a staunch Re- publican whose only fault, Baton Rouge reporters claim, is “being too honest for the job.” Both candidates have made several visits to the Monroe area. Governor Treen visited the Northeast campus shortly before his election in 1979 and was a commencement speaker for a 1981 graduation ceremony. He more recently traveled to Monroe to inspect flood damage and later met with President Reagan on his surprise visit to the Twin- Cities in early January. Edwards, a two-term gover- nor between 1971-1979, spoke Joel Waller The former governor created a media buzz when he suggested he and Treen run a no-cost campaign — no adver- tising, no fundraisers and no name calling. on campus last fall at the invi- tation of the Young Demo- crats. The former governor cre- ated a media buzz when he suggested he and Treen run a no-cost campaign — no ad- vertising, no fundraisers and no name calling. The only publicity would come from public speeches and debates. The plan was not taken se- riously to begin with, and as such, Treen declined the of- fer. Former governor Edwin Edwards (left), spoke on campus last fall to urge students to get involved in the campaign. Governor Dave Treen spoke to area teachers of the im- provements he will make if re-elect- ed. He and Edwards spoke at an edu- cator’s conference in Monroe in Feb- ruary. Paul Stillings r the governor’s race Issues in the gubernatorial campaign focused on the state budget and past business dealings of Edwards’. When Treen took office in 1980, the budget had a sur- plus according to Edwards. By early 1983 the state was run- ning in the red. - Edwards’ past involvement in deferred Compensation Corp. of Louisiana, a com- pany under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, was another major issue in the campaign. While Edwards maintained there was nothing illegal about his involvement with the company, voters nevertheless watched devel- opments in the case with in- terest. Polls taken in early Febru- ary indicated Edwards was ahead by 20 points in the race. Can Edwards keep his cam- paign going on the upswing? Will Treen turn the race around and pull ahead? Come November, we'll all know the answers. -by Sharon Harper Voting 25

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Apathy Low turnout : for elections ee 4 qt process of voting, one of America’s most important freedoms, is sadly neglected on most college campuses and Northeast is no exception. If you’re an out-of-town student, which most of us are, voting must be done by ab- sentee. Although the process is not difficult it is time-con- suming and most students would rather not bother. Student elections are an- other matter. It doesn’t seem too difficult to walk to Sandel Library, turn over your I.D. to the card reader, and pull down a few levers, but an average of fewer than 10 per- cent of Northeast students do sO. No one seems to know what’s going on. Voter tur- nouts are consistently low be- cause issues are usually vague. It’s rare to find a stu- dent who knows all the issues and or all the candidates. Voting turnout percentages are low because voting days are not adequately publicized. There are also students who take classes on only Tuesday- Thursdays or Monday- Wednesday-Friday who may unintentionally miss voting days. Some SGA members tried to eliminate this by pro- posing two-day elections but the motion did not pass. Student apathy regarding voting may, unfortunately, always be a problem unless students realize the impor- tance of this privelege. -by Sharon Harper. Another slow day at the polls beside Sandel Library. Voter turnouts at SGA elections have been consistently low for a number of years. 24 Student Life

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sw Sk aoe aor Hang-ten, which requires much prac- tice, concentration, and skill, is demon- strated by Tony Babin outside of Sugar Hall. Instead of studying in a lou d and con- gested area such as the SUB, Tracye Fewell prefers the quietness of a stair- well between classes. Gary Patton David Clancy | 26 Student Life