The
Clarion
Volume 72, Issue 11
SERVING THE BREVARD COLLEGE
COMMUNITY SINCE 1935
Election coverage,
see page 2
November 10, 2006
Shuler wins^ Democrats take control of Congress
by Adam Beeson
Editor-in-Chief
Following national trends. West
ern North Carolina voted for
change in this year’s mid-term elec
tion.
Democratic challenger Heath
Shuler defeated eight-term incum
bent U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor in
North Carolina’s 11'*" District on
Tuesday. The win was a key vic
tory for the Democrats, as the
party took control of the U.S.
House of Representatives for the
first time since 1994.
The former NFL quarterback,
running for his first political of
fice, took 51 percent of the 11'*'
Congressional District including all
four Brevard precincts, areas that
Dr Ralph Hamlett, associate pro
fessor of political science at BC,
says Taylor should have won.
“Taylor has brought so much
funding into the area,” Hamlett
said. “The Democratic Party got
out the vote and I think that is
what won the election. Local
Elected U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler
Democrats started organizing (the
campaign) last summer It was a
grassroots campaign.”
BC senior Seth Mathlery
worked with the Transylvania
County Republican Party on the
Taylor campaign and says that the
defeat illustrates Western North
Carolina’s desire for change.
“Shuler’s victory is evidence
that people in Western North Caro
lina want change in Washington,”
Mathlery said.
A Swain County native, Shuler
retains moderate positions many
key issues: he opposes abortion,
supports gun rights and disagrees
with gay marriage, stances that led
many mountain residents wonder
ing if he was indeed a Democrat.
“Heath Shuler did a fme job run
ning as a Republican on a Demo
cratic ticket,” Mathlery said.
On the issue of Iraq, however,
Shuler sides with the Democratic
Party in calling for a comprehen
sive change in course, a stance that
led BC sophomore B J Wanlund to
vote for the 34-year-old.
“I don’t care who is in office as
long as we fmd a new plan for Iraq,”
Wanlund said. “At this point, any
body is better than Charles Tay
lor”
Wanlund said that Taylor’s ques
tionable ethical record also influ
enced his vote.
Mold results yield no reason for concern
by Matt Rutherford
Managing Editor
Recently, President Van Horn
released a summary of the mold
findings and has held two differ
ent student-based meetings.
According to the summary. Ad
ministration began their investiga
tion of the mold allegations on
Sept. 28 of this year Since then,
no conclusion has been made be
cause the results have not finished
undergoing testing.
The testing was carried out dur
ing the time mold is most common
in the area. Apparently, the mold
is also common in households
throughout the town. The inspec
tor believed that even though there
was mold in ventilation shafts,
that there was not enough to be
considered a threat. However, it
was discovered that moister in the
HVAC units all over the Villages is
the main culprit.
Maintenance and General
Housekeeping were notified. Stu
dents are also to blame for the re
cent rise in mold; doors propped
and windows kept open while the
air conditioning was in operation
contributed to the growing mois
ture.
The college took two extra steps
to nullify the current issues. One
was the testing of a mold called
Apsergillus, which has 100 differ
ent strains—^two of which are dan
gerous to those with weakened
immune systems. Second, the col
lege made sure there was no active
mold growing in the walls.
The results of the testing sug
gest the mold is not toxic, but the
complaints received from the stu
dents living in the most mold-rid-
den areas are quite possibly real.
The only way to find out is to
consult a physician to confirm that
a mold allergen is actually causing
the distress of the students.
The molds considered to be po
tential allergens are Aspergillus,
Basiodiospores, Bipolaris/
Drechslera, Curvularia, and
Epicoccum.
Questions about Taylor’s ethics
in office began to surface this year
as the Wall Street Journal named
him one of the most corrupt mem
bers of Congress. Earlier reports
had connected Taylor with nearly
$10,000 in campaign donations
from convicted lobbyist Jack
Abramoff
Senior Michael Spradlin voted
for Shuler on Tuesday as well.
Spradlin said that he felt Shuler just
ran a better campaign than his Re
publican opponent.
“I didn’t like the smear campaign
that Taylor was running,” Spradlin
said.
Speaking to supporters outside
of the Renaissance Hotel in down
town Asheville, Shuler said that his
priorities as Congressman are to
create more j obs for mountain resi
dents, improve health care cover-
see Election, page 2
What's
Inside?
Classifieds
.17
Election
...7
False Ad
...9
Horoscope
...8
Matt's Take
...6
Movie Review...
..7
Opinion
..4
Put it Away
..6
Sports
11