tl20041101_001 "Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Monday, 11/1/04 Honors College seeks expansion Election comes at pivotal point 6 MFA students show off work Recher attracts diverse music acts Departments Opinion News 5 PawPrints 6 Nations 9 Arts : 13 Now Showing. 14 Soundbites. 14 Sports 20 In this corner. 20 Face-Off. 18 Classifieds 16 Campus votes Kerry in poll Towerlight election survey reveals solid lead for Democrats Brian Stelter The Towerlight A survey of over 700 Towson University students indicates nearly two-thirds of the campus supports John Kerry. The Towerlight polled 705 undergraduates during a 48-hour period beginning Monday, Oct. 25, discovering strong support for the Democratic nominee among all years and majors. Of those surveyed, 63.7 percent intend to vote for Sen. Kerry, while 33.8 percent intend to vote for President George W. Bush. Ralph Nader received 1.5 percent of the votes. The poll suggests the majority of TU students are registered and ready to vote Tuesday. Education, the Iraq war, health care and jobs were the most important issues cited by respondents. Thirty Towerlight representatives polled students at more than 20 locations on campus. A small, but notable minority of respondents said they intend to vote, but have not decided whom to vote for. Thirty-one of the """"undecided"""" voters were Democrats. Ten Republicans and 13 Independents also said they had not decided who to vote for. Kerry received support from the majority of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors who completed the survey. Older students tended to support Kerry in higher numbers. Among students who intend to vote, 41.5 percent of freshmen support Bush, while only 29.4 percent of seniors do. Patrick Gonzales, the president for the Annapolis-based polling firm Gonzales Research, said the poll's random methodology would have accurately sampled the opinions on the campus. """"I guarantee, [the poll] was dead-on with reflecting the student body,"""" he said. """"I would suspect that the numbers are pretty accurate."""" See SURVEY, page 7 Black offers comedic slant on election Lisa Johnson/The Towerlight Maryland native Lewis Black performed before a packed Towson Center Friday as part of family weekend. Professor observes campaign press Brian Stelter The Towerlight For reporters on the campaign trail, it's hard to tell when one day ends and another begins. As a temporary member of President Bush's traveling press corps, Towson professor Martha Joynt Kumar slept four hours Friday night before boarding a bus to the airport at 4:30 a.m. By sunrise Saturday morning, the press plane was en route to Grand Rapids, Michigan. - """"One of the aspects of the campaign that you really come to appreciate, even after only a couple of days, is how arduous the travel is,"""" she said. Kumar, a professor in Towson's political science department, observes the relationship between the White House and the press on a daily basis from an office near the White House Briefing Room. """"One of the aspects of the campaign that you really come to appreciate...is how arduous the travel is."""" Martha Joynt Kumar professor, political science For several days last week, she observed the traveling press during the President's visits to several swing states. """"My position is fairly unique,"""" she said Saturday. """"I don't know of anyone else who does what I do."""" Twenty-four hours earlier, Kumar boarded a charter plane at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. By Saturday evening, she had traveled to five states and attended five """"Victory 2004"""" rallies. After an event in Orlando, Kumar stayed overnight in Florida, and attended an evening rally for John Kerry in Tampa Sunday night. """"It's really been an interesting trip,"""" Kumar said. """"I've talked to people about how they do their work, and how it varies from the White House."""" She met up with the press plane at 6 a.m. Friday at Andrews Air Force Base. See KUMAR, page 6 Today High 64 Low 50 Tuesday High 71 Low 54 Wednesday High 59 Low 44 Thursday High 60 Low 41 Friday High 56 Low 37"