Western Kentucky University - Talisman Yearbook (Bowling Green, KY)

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22 Election Campus political activity was light and students involved said there just wasn't enough money — or interest. A landslide with Ithough Ronald Reagan won the 1980 Asie election by a landslide, most pollsters were predicting a close race throughout the fall. In spite of widely publicized debate squab- bles, attacks and rebuttals, political activity on campus was light, according to local organizers. Tim Woods, chairman of the Students for Anderson Committee, said his organization lik- ed it that way. ‘“‘We thought a light turnout would help (John) Anderson,” he said. Although the committee had received its charter from the university in July, Woods said the 50 or so members didn’t pursue the cam- paign aggressively until a few weeks before election day. ‘We were on a limited budget,’ Woods said. Most of the organization's activity was ic a 4 mt aan ie ho ale Pax restricted to passing out leaflets at the universi- ty center. ‘It seemed like the other organiza- tions were taking care of voter registration,’ he said. The Louisville sophomore said as election day drew nearer, Anderson’s support seemed to drop off rapidly. ‘‘People just didn’t think he could win, so they didn’t vote for him,’’ Woods said. ‘‘It was more of an interesting campaign than we've had for a while,”’ he said. Smith said he supported Anderson and was disappointed when President Jimmy Carter refused to debate Anderson. “| think Carter’s refusal showed him to be a weak leader,’’ Smith said. “It made him look scared.” Smith was impressed by the Republicans’ na- tional campaign effort. He said, ‘| thought they did a super job. The Democrats really took a 2 € ? i BA eee owe ws eer ope see a@h ¢ Fe a ee OO. air them for granted. “It was like the Democrats just took a last- minute shot at it,’ Smith said. “Il don’t know why they didn’t put more money into the state programs. Finding space for a Bowling Green head- quarters for Anderson was difficult, Smith said. Finally a realtor with few political ties let the group use a building on State Street. “Most of the realtors said they had plenty of places they'd let us have if we represented one of the major party candidates,’ Smith said. ‘| guess they didn’t take Anderson seriously, just like everybody else.” Chairman of the Carter Steering Committee in Bowling Green Jeff Durham said he didn’t see much student involvement in the 1980 campaign. ‘| hate to use the word,’ Durham said, “but

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‘ Sse . — Chris Clark CROWDED GARBAGE CANS stand in front of an unrented apartment on Kentucky Street. Sights such as this have kept many students from moving off campus. However, nearly 64 percent of Western's enrollment chose to live off campus during the fall semester. Rats Campus life attracts some new campus life ats — outside windows, in the trash R rooms, on the stairways — apartment dwellers had to deal with it, and dorm liv- ing wasn’t always an escape. “Yes we do have a rat problem on campus,” housing director Horace Shrader said. ‘It’s a problem all over campus and we deal with it continuously to control it.”’ he said. Rats live on scraps thrown from dorm win- ‘| hope something can be done about it. It’s getting bad, and someone else will get bitten if they aren’t controlled.’ — Fred Dent dows, Shrader said. They've been reported at every residence hall, but the problem was worst around Keen and Poland halls, he said. At about Thanksgiving, one Pearce-Ford resi- dent was bitten by a rat and had to get medical treatment. “Il was reaching into the bushes outside Pearce-Ford because | had dropped my keys, and a rat bit me on the finger. | felt dizzy and nauseous the next day and had to go to the hospital,’’ Fred Dent, a freshman from Chicago, Ill., said. “I was in the hospital five days before they finally called in a specialist from Atlanta. It was determined | had some disease rats transmit.” he said. ‘I was really sick.” Maintenance director Kemble Johnson was in charge of coordinating physical plant efforts to control the rats. ‘“‘We have an ongoing con- tract with a local pest control company that handles all our pest problems — rats, mice, roaches, ’ he said. “We have a few complaints a week about rats,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘Most come from the Keen or Poland halls. We had a report of rats in the ceiling at Keen Hall last week,’ Johnson said. “The dorms all have kitchens now, and the pro- blem has gotten worse over the last few years since the kitchens have been installed.” One Keen Hall resident has been trapping rats outside his dorm window, and Barnes- Campbell director Bill Burns said he put out rat traps in addition to ones supplied by the university. “It’s a problem, but | wouldn't call it severe,’ Burns said. ‘‘At least it’s not severe at Barnes- Campbell.’ Rats had apparently climbed up a heating vent into the dorm and could not get out. Food services director Lon Slaughter said he had seen rats only once or twice the past year. “They get underneath the building and in crevices underground,” he said. “But | have never seen one inside the Downing Center. | have seen them a time or two outside around the dumpster, though.”’ One rat control problem was the En- vironmental Protection Agency regulations that limited the strength and type of poison to give the rats, Johnson said. The poison in use killed slowly, taking up to 10 days of regular feeding. ‘| sure hope something can be done about it. It’s getting bad, and someone else will get bitten if they aren’t controlled,” Dent said. Rat control is difficult and total elimination would be impossible, according to Shrader. He said the answer appeared to lie in the poison control and the elimination of food scraps thrown from windows. Tim Farmer — Gary Hairlson IN FRONT OF Keen Hall, Steve Tong displays one of his catches. The Owensboro freshman caught 11 rats near the dorm during the year. : 21 Dorms vs apartments Rats

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little support it was an apathetic time. There just wasn’t much activity on the part of the Democrats. “Our organization was much stronger in 1976,’ Durham, a graduate assistant in the government department, said. ‘‘About all we -could do is help keep the headquarters downtown open.” The 12-member committee had a voter- registration drive in early October, but com- plicated registration laws made it hard to sign out-of-town students, Durham said. “We handled 60 or 70 absentee ballots for people who didn’t want to go home to vote,” he said. Durham said he thought Reagan’s landslide victory was a mandate against Carter. ‘People were just not happy with his administration,” Durham said. ‘‘It was as if people were saying, ‘Let’s try something new.’ ” — Lisa Roberts Cary Dodson, a Carter supporter, said the Democrats weren’t effective in getting support for the president on campus. “‘It seemed like we were organized, but we just didn’t get a lot done. “The Republicans had a lot of people who really worked,” he said, adding that the nation- wide Republican campaign seemed to have a lot of momentum. The Tompkinsville freshman said the Democratic headquarters on College Street was one of the quietest places in town. “There wasn’t as much activity as I'd seen in some of the past elections,” he said. ‘We didn't even have money for a phone bank.”’ Dodson said he’s been involved in several elections, including the 1978 gubernatorial primary. “I was quite surprised Carter didn’t carry Kentucky, the state party just didn’t put much money into this area,’ he said. Reagan’s campus supporters enjoyed more enthusiasm than other groups, according to Students for Reagan committee chairman Karla Groschelle. But Groschelle, a Jamestown junior, said money problems kept the several dozen com: mittee members from taking an active role in REPUBLICAN RONALD REAGAN’S image is projected from the wide-screen television on the fourth floor of the university center. A small group of students watched the na- tionally televised debate between Reagan and independent candidate John Anderson. Incumbent Jimmy Carter refused to participate in that debate. the campaign. ‘‘We couldn’t afford to do too much,’ she said. Much of the campus stumping for Reagan was done by personal contact — ‘‘Just talking to people about it,’’ Groschelle said. She said Reagan’s large victory margin reflected confidence in the new president. She also pointed to Republican victories in the con- gressional elections. Besides organized political activity from stu dent groups, two university-sponsored events brought the 1980 presidential election to campus. On Oct. 22, a debate among representatives of the three major candidates was sponsored by the University Center Board. Almost 100 people heard former Gov. Ed- ward T. Breathitt, speaker for the Democrats; Larry Forgy, Reagan state campaign chairman; and Woods, Anderson representative. Woods replaced Joel Goldstein, state co-chairman of the Anderson campaign, who was originally scheduled to appear. After each representative made an opening statement, a three-member media panel — Tom Caudill of the Park City Daily News, Roy Brassfield from WBKO-TV and Kathryn Runner continued on page 24 ONLY THREE PEOPLE show up for an organizational meeting of Carter supporters. Bowling Green city commis: sioner Patsy Sloan spoke to Lorrain Cooper, a Louisville graduate student; Cary Dodson, a Tompkinsville freshman; and Jeff Durham, a Bowling Green graduate student (at desk), who formed the core of Western’s Carter campaign. ey — Jim Gensheimer 23 Election