The Reporter

wed nov-04 Alison Aragona staff writer A higher percentage of citizens voted in the Nov. 2 presidential election than in any election in the last 36 years, according to the latest figures released by members of the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement at the University of Maryland. This record-setting turnout elected President George W. Bush to four more years of office. President George W. Bush was officially re-elected as of noon on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004. Bush received 274 electoral votes in the race, while his opponent, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) received 238 electoral votes. Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, counseled Kerry to fight on until all of Ohio's votes were counted — which might not occur for almost two weeks past election day. Ohio was considered a "swing" state in the election since polls showed that its 20 electoral votes could have gone to either the Demo crats or the Republicans. However, Kerry called the president shortly after 11 am to concede the race and to congratulate 'Mr. Bush. Kerry was also quoted as saying, "In America, it is vital that every vote count ... but the outcome should be decided by voters, not a protracted legal fight." Political analysts believe that voters credited President Bush with protecting the country and trusted him more than Senator Kerry to take on the terrorists. See BUSH, 3A * , FROM HTTP://WWW.ELECTq'RAL-VOTE.COM Red indicates states that voted for President George W. Bush, while the blue indicate states that voted for Senator John Kerry. X ■ *-.-..* v_./-,r\w__i.\i_ jwi.lj / iiil. i\Lru(\iLr\ ^.ni\<-<Lll>IL JWI1L>J / IIIL. [\LrVI\ILI\ Erin Leichtenberg, a sorority member of Zeta Tau Alpha and a Panhellenic delegate, hands out candy to a member of the Boys and Girls Club during the Panhellenic sponsored Trick or Treat, on Friday, Oct. 29, © __. aKes onnuman cionin me United States terms cloning as 'unethical and morally reproachable.' Jennifer Nedeau u-wire dc bureau (U-WIRE) WASHINGTON - For the third year in a row, the United Nations thwarted the passage of a global treaty to ban human cloning due to differing opinions about stem cell research. During a meeting held Oct. 21 at the U.N. headquarters in New York, the General Assembly narrowly voted to postpone any ban on human cloning until 2005. Officials debated two resolutions on Costa Rica's draft calling for a treaty to ban all cloning versus Belgium's draft calling for a treaty that would ban the cloning of babies, but allow countries to decide on using embryos for scientific research. The United States sided with Costa Rica and 59 other mostly small nations and concluded that any medical research involving cloning will result in the taking of human life. Their draft to ban all human cloning termed it "unethical and morally reproachable." Roberto Tovar, minister of foreign affairs and worship for Costa Rica, said he pushed for a complete ban on all forms of cloning because "cloning reduces the human being to a mere object of industrial production and manipulation." He warned that women could be exploited as egg- making "factories" and that the international community must not allow human embryos to be destroyed for scientific experiments. See CLONING, 2/4 tity nationwide Michelle Kessel u-wire dc bureau (U-WIRE) WASHINGTON - Kari Hirsh, a junior at the George Washington University from Great Neck, NY, said she has learned to always rip up her shopping receipts. Recently, Hirsh received a phone call from her bank about charges on a credit card totaling nearly $800. But Hirsh said she did not make these charges, nor was her actual credit card sto* len. "I really have no idea what happened," she said. "I just got a call from a bank one day and found out that someone stole my identity and used it to apply for a credit card and then charged things under my name." Hirsh wrote a letter to the credit card fraud department and was not held accountable for the purchases made using her name. "I've heard about these things but I never thought it could actually happen to me," she said. Identity theft, according to the Office of Inspector General, occurs when someone uses someone else's personal identifying information without any knowledge or permission. The information can be used to obtain credit cards, wireless phones and services, loans and mortgages, jobs, and to commit fraudulent and criminal acts leaving the naive victim responsible. Analysts say the growth of the Internet and digital finance, expanding consumer credit worldwide, varying law enforcement on the local and federal levels and the changing regulations governing the credit industry are factors which have helped identity theft become a an easier crime to commit. In 1998, Congress made identity theft a federal crime prompting the Federal Trade Commission to setup a victim assistance center one year later. According to a recent survey by the Federal See IDENTITY, 24 Greenfeather looks to collect $25,000. for charities, agencies Kari Kopko staff writer Organizatiofis all around campus are coming together to earn money in order to donate to causes for Greenfeather. The theme this year is "50 Years of Seryice". There is a 1950s motif to go along with the 50th anniversary. During Airwaves, "which wraps up the week, this theme will add a fun flavor to the dance and song routines provided by members of each organization. This week of service occurs every year during the fall semester. It is an entire week of events aimed to raise money. Besides Airwaves, the activities during Greenfeather include everything from a Rock-a-thon (in which members of the participating organizations sit outside the commons in rocking chairs, collecting pennies as positive points for their "team" and silver change and bills as negative See GREENFEATHER, 24 Study shows link between students' mental health and religious activity Sundeep Malladi university of wisconsin (U-WIRE) WIS - College students of high religious activity and commitment are in better emotional and mental health than those who have no involvement, according to a University of California-Los Angeles study. The study consisted of 3,680 third-year college students at 46 diverse colleges and universities. UCLA researchers found there may be a correlation between religious activity and physical and mental health. The UCLA researchers believe a correlation may exist between both mental and physical health and religion. study found students who participate frequently in religious services are less likely to feel overwhelmed during college, while See MENTAL 24 Wednesday's Forecast: y*-*, », CALENDAR 3B NEWS 2A Isolated thunderstorms. ■f*\ 1 CARTOON 2B NEWSMAKERS 3A High 75, Low 60 €uU. -s CROSSWORD 2B OPINIONS 4A Sunrise: 6:45 i HISTORY 2B RUMINATIONS 2B Sunset: 5:34 J HOROSCOPE 2B REVIEWS 3B Precip: 30% / f*TI*ip•f . LIFE IB SPORTS 1C Humid: 78% Pl/j/pM//y LETTERS TO EDITOR 4A THE FINISH LINE 3c / '/ rJy / MOVIE LISTINGS 3B WEATHER FORECAST 6a Forecast on page 6A Blog Madness Students confess, among other things, their secrets on the world wide web STORY 1B Are You Psychic? Are you able to predict the future or know what others are thinking? STORY 1B Movie Listings Get showtimes and theatre locations for the upcoming weekend. MOVIES 3B