W W W.. 11 O Ml. t O y / P t N O U L
XXVI
ISSUE 10
0ATf 11/16/00
Town of Elon College to change name:
Unanimous vote will lead to town charter revision
Elizabeth Sudduth
Asst. News Editor
In a unanimous vote of 7-0, the Elon
College Board of Alderman voted Tuesday to
drop College from the town’s name.
After 107 years of referring to the Town
as Elon College, the town will now be re
ferred to as the Town of Elon.
“This is a historic evening,” said Mayor,
Beth Schmidt. “For the past 25 years the
town has witnessed tremendous change.”
The board decided to place the issue on
Tuesday night’s agenda after the Elon Col
lege Board of
Trustees voted unanimously on Oct. 11
to change the school’s name from Elon Col
lege to Elon University.
Since that decision in October, the town
invited all citizens to give input about the
possible name change.
“Most of the citizens response was
positive,” Schmidt said. “I personally be
lieve that the general consensus of our town
will be pleased by our decision this evening.”
‘ It was one of the shortest meetings in
the town ’ s history for one of the most historic
decisions ever made. The Mayor called the
meeting to order promptly at 7 p.m. Nine
minutes later with an approval to adjourn the
meeting had concluded.
The next step for the town is for local
representatives to sponsor a town charter
revision in the General Assembly that both
the House and Senate will have to approve.
The official name change will then not take
place until July 2001.
Elizabeth Sudduth! The Pendulum
Chuck Gantos Jr., Beth Schmidt and Phoebe
Harrison announce the decision to rename
the town of Elon College to Elon at the town
meeting Tuesday night.
Understanding the Electoral College: Constitutional Value and impact
Jason Chick
The Pendulum
The State of Florida has caused an
unprecedented amount of controversy in the
race for the White House, yet it has also been
the primary tool for enlightening many Ameri
cans to their own governmental processes.
The media frenzy in Florida has un
earthed a word foreign to many Americans:
the Electoral College. No, this is not a four-
year institution, nor does it require a lengthy
admission procedure, yet its members are
responsible for electing the president of the
United States.
The majority of America is uneducated
in governmental policies and procedures and
has the mindset that we live in a democracy.
On the contrary, we do not live in a
democracy but a republic. James Madison,
our fourth president, defined a democracy
where the people are the legislative branch of
government and therefore have control, which
works best in a small country; however,
Madison defined a republic as a society where
the people elect officials to represent them,
which works best in larger countries.
The United States of America operates
under a republic, and, furthermore, in a presi
dential election elects representation from
each state to vote for the president, which
may or may not be based on how the citizens
vote. These representatives constitute the
538 members of the Electoral College that
ultimately decides the presidency.
The current turmoil in Florida has raised
questions about the validity of the Electoral
College in the 21st Century. Many American
citizens question whether or not the Electoral
College serves any direct purpose in modem
elections. The ‘founding fathers’ established
the Electoral College in the United States
Constitution because they did not trust the
people to vote in the country’s best interest.
“Each state shall appoint.. .a number of elec
tors, equal to the whole number of Senators
and Representatives to which the State may
be entitled in the Congress “(Article 2, Sec
tion 1). “The electors shall meet in their
respective states and vote by ballot for Presi
dent and Vice-President..., which lists they
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to
the seat of the government of the United
States. The President of the Senate
shall.. .open all the certificates and the votes
shall then be counted; —the person having
the greatest number of votes for President,
shall be President...” (Amendment XII).
see “ELECTORAL,” page 5
Elon hires dogs
to get rid of
geese
page 3
Inside
Catch-up on
Phoenix basketball
page 24
I
Kiss the Pig
page 21