Brown and White Vol. 123 no. 16

              Vol. 123 No. 16
Friday, November 9, 2012
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
Etters named PL XC Coach of the Year
Page 12
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Lift off
with Professor Hart
Page 5
LIFESTYLE
By CONNOR TAIT
Barack Obama was re-elected to be President of the United States after defeating Republican nominee, former Gov. of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, 303-206 in electoral votes Tuesday night. As of press time, Florida was not yet decided and its 29 electoral votes were still up for grabs.
Major news networks called the election an Obama victory around 11:30 p.m. after it was announced that he won Ohio’s 18 electoral votes. The victory in Ohio gave Obama 274 elec­toral votes, four more than needed to win the election.
Shortly after the election was called, Obama made his victory speech to campaign supporters in Chicago.
“Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours,” Obama said. “And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together.”
Obama said the key issues in the coming years are reducing the deficit, reforming the tax code, fixing the im­migration system and freeing America from foreign oil dependency.
Romney made his concession speech to campaign supporters in Boston.
“The nation, as you know, is at a critical point,” Romney said. “At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work. And we citi­zens also have to rise to the occasion.”
In the senate, Democrats retained house control, taking 52 seats com­pared to 45 for the Republicans.
It was also a landmark night for female politicians as 20 percent of senators are now women.
According to Opensecrets.org, the total cost of all federal elec­tion campaign expenditures was $5,803,829,964.
In terms of social issues that were on state ballots, it was a big night for gay rights and marijuana legalization.
Maine and Maryland became the first states to legalize gay marriage by popular vote. Other states, such as Iowa and Massachusetts, have le­galized gay marriage through their respective court systems. Minnesota rejected a proposal to ban gay mar­riage in the Constitution. As of press time, Washington ballots are still being counted to legalize gay marriage.
Voters in Colorado and Washington approved ballot initiatives to legalize private, recreational marijuana use for citizens over 21. These are the first states to ever pass legislation regarding recreational use of marijuana.
Obama wins election; Dems hold onto Senate majority
By JASMINE AMEERALLY
As a prelude to the 148th Lehigh-La­fayette football game, Lehigh students are helping to coordinate the university’s annual Spirit Week.
Students that are helping to coordi­nate the events include Alumni Student Association Student Spirit Chair, Saman­tha Burke, ’14, and ASA President Josh Greenberg, ’13. Both coordinators said they hope the events will increase spirit before the historic annual football game.
“First and foremost, the objective for the week is to rally the campus through events that promote Lehigh spirit and instill a sense of pride in the rich tradi­tion that is the Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry,” Greenberg said.
“With all the success that our football team has been having, I expect to see a heightened sense of Lehigh pride during this spirit week,” Burke said. “I am re­ally feeling the support from the student body, so I’m excited for next week.”
Events include the Kickoff Carnival held at the University Center front lawn, a senior class event in STEPS, Lehigh vs. Lafayette Battle of the Bands at Lamber­ton Hall, Lehigh-Laf-a-Palooza at Grace Hall and Bed Races on Library Drive.
“We have planned all of these events to be very important in their own way,” Burke said. “[The] Kickoff Event will serve to get everyone feeling the initial spirit, the Battle of the Bands will be a huge part of the LL Giving challenge and it will be a different and exciting Le­high-Laf competition, [and] Palooza will have the Pep Rally as a way for students to connect with the football team and re­ally start to get pumped. Bed Races is the tradition that everyone loves and noth­ing is better than that to do on the night before the game.”
Some changes have been made in terms of location to some of the events, but Greenberg said he is very excited about the upcoming spirit week.
“I’m really excited about the Battle of the Bands, a new addition to the spirit week and a great idea of Music Box,” Greenberg said. “I’m also really excited about the changes made to the Bed Races event this year, as we’ve moved it down to Memorial Walk to take advan­tage of the new stage and front lawn.”
Hurricane Sandy postponed many Lehigh events, but Burke and Greenberg said they are not worried because of their prior planning.
“Luckily the hurricane did not alter
Official White House photo by Pete Souza
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden congratulate each other at Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park shortly after the election was called in their favor. They will both be re-inaugurated Jan. 21, 2013.
See RIVALRY Page 3
Spirit Week prepares LU for Lehigh-Laf showdown