12 Editorial Board Adam Lucas Laura Parker Marjorie Hall Ellen Yutzy Statement of Purpose The Forum exists to facilitate dialogue and expression on matters of importance to Guilford College and its mission. Toward this end, active community participation in these pages is vital. Editorial Policy Every effort will be made to print appropriate submissions of editorials, cartoons and letters to the editor. They must be signed, with the phone number of the author or artist included and turned in to the box outside the publications suite by 3:00 on Monday before that Friday's publication date. Editorials must be no longer than 400 words and letters to the editor must be no more than 250 words. The Guilfordian reserves the right to edit submissions for grammatical correctness and brevity. THE GUILFORDIAN "Since 1914, but never quite like this." Editor-in-chief Adam Lucas (286-1214) News editor Marjorie Hall (316-3171) Features editor Will Dodson (316-3727) World editor. Ellen Yutzy (316-3808) Editorials editor. Laura Parker (316-3683) Sports editor Dan Gatti (316-3843) Photography editor Becca Lee (316-3446) Co-photo editor Chris Carlstrom (316-3752) Layout editor. Alicia Grogan-Brown (316-3120) Online editor Steven Rentz (316-3278) Business manager Amy Broach (286-1214) Faculty advisor. Jeff Jeske (316-2216) Staff writers: Laurah Norton, Betsy Blake, Paige Mcßae, Greg Rinaldi, Astor Ankney, Allison Strizak, Morgan Reffell, Chris Weber, Jack Shuler, Amanda Becom, Annie Buchanan-Clary, Jonathan Carter, Kelton Cofer, Kelly White, Zack Hample, Matthew Zuehlke, Jacob Noble, Katy Hunter, Phoebe Jewett, John Clinton, Dana Mendoza, Jeff Irving Staff meetings are Mondays at 7:30 pm in the Passion Pit. All are welcome. How to reach us: By mail: 5800 W. Friendly Avenue, 17717 Founders Hall, Greensboro, NC 27410 By phone: (910)316-2306 By fax: (910)316-2950 By e-mail: Guilfordian@rascal.guilford.edu On the Internet: www.guilford.edu/Guilfordian Two sides to voter turnout ♦Students turn out in surprising numbers to vote in election STAFF EDITORIAL At first glance, having only slightly more than half of the student body vot ing in an election that made national news sounds distressing. After all, if it's good enough for The Washington Post to write about and Dan Rather to talk about, then shouldn't it be good enough to deserve the attention of a majority of Guilford students? Well, yes. And well, no. It's discouraging that only 30 more students voted this year than in 1997 and that 29 more people voted in 1996. In an election that received as much attention as this one, it seems reasonable to ex pect a large increase. Any potential voter that might have used the "I didn't know it was election day" excuse had that de fense torpedoed when the Morris ticket made use of some quite effective last minute campaign signs. Of course, this election is not one that can be measured strictly by the num- Forum bers. Countless voters decided not to vote because they felt that the events leading up to the election blurred the actual is sues. Even without their participation, It's also a well-deserved trib ute to the elections committee, which made voting quick, easy, and relatively painless. however, voter turnout still compares fa vorably with that of colleges from across the state. For example, UNC recently held its student body election, welcom ing 2,500 voters. That sounds like a lot until you consider that Carolina has nearly 20,000 undergraduate students. In that light, having one out of ev ery two students show up is rather en couraging. It's also a well-deserved trib- A female for 2000 BY GREGORY RINALDI Staff Wrter It's odd. America is odd. Everyone is so accepting of Bill Clinton having an affair or two, and the public has given him the highest approval rating since he was elected. First, let's get the facts straight. Kenneth Starr is investigating whether Clinton influenced justice, not whether he had an affair. If Clinton told Monica Lewinsky or anyone else to lie under oath, then that is grounds for impeachment. Case closed. But it's not. Not for us and not for this issue. What if Hillary was President in stead? And what if she had been having these affairs? Even with the economy showing the same glorious signs, people wouldn't be as accepting of a woman having an affair. Stereotypes and sex ism, and another reason why our coun try isn't brave enough to elect a woman to the presidency. Christine Todd Whitman is gover nor of New Jersey. Janet Reno is the attorney general. And we have women in the Senate and Congress who have The Guilfordian February 20,1998 ute to the elections committee, which made voting quick, easy, and relatively painless. Naturally, the candidates also de serve a good bit of credit. This cam paign was a difficult one. First, the Morris ticket found them selves more or less unable to campaign because of a fear of being perceived as insensitive to the attack on Molly Martin last week. They bounced back with gusto on the morning of the election, however, placing balloons in almost every campus building and tying ribbons around dorm room doors. Both tickets, in fact, handled the tricky task of campaigning with excep tional class, as even the slightest slip could have been taken the wrong way. The result was a clean and well run campaign. While some might say that it's a shame more voters didn't turn out, an even-handed look at a complex situa tion shows that it's probably better than anyone could have hoped. taken the same jobs and slandering as their male counterparts. Popular belief is that a woman couldn't handle the headaches that go with power, such as congressional poli tics, foreign affairs, and war. But most already do. We have a female secretary of state, ambassadors, and lawyers to name a few. Women can handle the same political positions just as well as men can and have proved it time and time again. Have these critics ever raised chil dren? They tend to argue that women are better at raising children. Well, then why don't they believe that women could handle the childishness of male-domi nated world politics? Most politicians—including our President—act like children anyway. Congress would be child's play for a woman. This is equality? Where a woman is dismissed as a leader just because she is a woman? Elizabeth Dole was a better candi date for president in '96 than either her husband or Bill Clinton. And maybe in 2000 she'll get the opportunity to prove just how much better she was.