TL20071018-01 "Krysten Appelbaum Senior Editor Age is just a number. That is the reply given to the naysayers by 19-year-old Nicole Burlew, a political science major at Towson and mayoral candidate for Aberdeen, Md. �Since when is caring, being compassionate, and determined age exclusive?� the junior asks of those questioning whether she is too young for the job. Burlew, who is running as a Republican in the Nov. 6 election, said youth is among the reasons for her run for mayor. �...One of the initial reasons [to run] was to show the youth that our voice can be heard and does count,� she said. �I am running for mayor because I think I can make a difference in Aberdeen.� She said the campaign was something she has hoped to do for some time. �Everyone wishes that they could win the lot-tery or get a perfect score on the SAT. My cam-paign ambitions are along those lines; I always wished I could help the people in Aberdeen city. And when the chance presented itself, I went for it,� she said. As for her age, Burlew, who is not old enough yet to have voted in an election, is not con-cerned. �If it did not concern the members of the city council who created and maintained the city charter, then I don�t see why I should be con-cerned,� she said. Aberdeen does not have an age requirement for mayor or city council. There is also no expe-rience level requirement. Mayoral candidate Michael E. Bennett is a retired state trooper, and incumbent Fred S. Simmons was an insurance Oct. 18, 2007 www.thetowerlight.com Published by and for the students of Towson and Baltimore -- twice-weekly Thursday Now on TheTowerlight.com: View video of the Fall Career and Internship Fair and video Word on the Street... From lecture hall to city hall Kristofer Marsh/The Towerlight Towson University junior Nicole Burlew, a 19-year-old political science major, is running for mayor of Aberdeen. She is running as a Republican in the Nov. 6 election. Junior political science major Nicole Burlew, 19, balances classwork with campaigning in her run for mayor of Aberdeen Residents to lose 130 parking spots Lots near Towson Run affected by construction Sharon Leff Editor in Chief Starting Oct. 22, Towson will lose another 130 parking spots because of infrastructure work related to the West Village housing complex. Phase one of the West Village, currently underway, will include two residence halls and about 670 beds. It will be located between Millennium Hall and the Towson Run Apartments. The spaces will be taken from Lots 18 and 22, which are resident lots. The University considered using all of Lot 22 as a staging area for construction mate-rial, but decided to use the grassy area by Towsontown Boulevard instead. Using all of Lot 22 would have resulted in a loss of 180 spaces. �We were discussing making it the [staging area] in Lot 22, but after further discussion we decided we needed those See LOT, page 10 See MAYOR, page 14 The Towerlight Students gather to remember Kevin Ryan News, page 7 Bestselling author Augusten Burroughs visits campus, answers questions Arts, page 16 "