tl20081106-01 "Now on TheTowerlight.com: View video coverage from downtown Baltimore during Barack Obama�s election party... Nov. 6, 2008 Thursday www.thetowerlight.com FREE The Towerlight Youth drive, celebrate Obama Blake Savadow/The Towerlight Above, Marylanders celebrate senator Barack Obama�s victory in the 2008 presidential election at Bourbon St. Baltimore on Guilford Avenue. Below, Obama supporters cheer upon hearing the Democratic nominee won Maryland�s electoral votes. Eric Gazzillo/The Towerlight Voters say �Yes� to slots, funding for education Video lottery terminals supported by Maryland, passed 59 to 41 percent Energized young Democrats promote candidate, cheer on historical victory Nick DiMarco Senior Editor BALTIMORE �Grant Park in Chicago was ground zero for Obama-mania Bourbon St. Baltimore was coined �the biggest party in Maryland� Tuesday night. At 9 p.m., Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama showed a com-manding lead over his opponent John McCain as the crowd stirred with con-fidence. At 10:58 p.m., when major news net-works declared Obama victorious, the upper level of the building shook under the weight of hundreds of voters both young and old, black and white. Obama�s campaign tagline, �yes we can,� was changed to �yes we did,� as attendees joyously chanted with drinks in hand. According to a number of high-rank-ing Maryland politicians, Obama�s suc-cess was due in large part to young volunteers. �[They have] been incredibly impor-tant this year� today we had 840 phones cranking non-stop and I would say half of them were young people, young voters,� Maryland governor Martin O�Malley said. �I�m grateful to my fellow citizens who are about 20 years younger than I am for coming out and voting and getting our country back.� At a rally held at Barack Obama Campaign Headquarters on Chesapeake Avenue Monday, senator Barbara Mikulski listed a number of achieve-ments by volunteers. She credited the work of young people with the registra-tion of 226,000 new Democrats for the 2008 Election. Volunteers under 30 years old helped make more than 178,000 phone calls and more than 13,000 volun-teers traveled to swing states, canvassing for Obama�s cause. Maryland attorney general Doug See OBAMA, page 7 Kiel McLaughlin Editor in Chief Record numbers turned out to vote Tuesday at precincts across the state. After choosing a candidate for the presidential race, Marylanders approved bringing 15,000 video lottery terminals to the state. Question 2 passed 59 percent to 41 percent. Some projections estimate as much as $660 million generated by the slots machines will be funneled into education. The University System of Maryland formally endorsed the referendum earlier this fall. �I�m a realist. If you have lotteries and other forms of gambling in the state, there is no reason to not have slots,� Towson President Robert Caret, who supported the USM endorsement, said. �I�m very pleased that slots passed because it means more revenue for the state and more revenue for higher education.� The revenue produced by slots will boost a struggling state economy stuck in a deficit. State departments across Maryland, including higher education, are anticipating budget cuts in the immediate future. As a proactive maneuver to avoid additional financial burdens, the USM imposed a system-wide hiring freeze in September. Towson and other state institutions were asked to prepare for budget reductions. Caret and the University administration have insisted that Towson will not grow if adequate fund-ing is not available. In support of the USM and the Towson administration, the Student Government Association passed a resolution in October in favor of the referendum. Sarah Elfreth, SGA director of legislative affairs, assisted in the writing of the resolution and has promoted it to the campus. She said that students recognize the state is in a financial crunch and need to find �creative ways to generate funding.� �This means we can continue with our growth. It was earmarked for capital projects, so when we sub-mit our budget in February, they�ll be more likely to approve [the College of Liberal Arts] complex and other things in the 2010 plan,� Elfreth said. See SLOTS, page 7 Students watch election coverage in Paws News, page 6 Bernie Mac, Sam Jackson star in �Soul Men� Arts, page 16 Published by Baltimore Student Media for the Towson University Community "
