Campus abuzz over election stalemate

Students strolled to class, dreary from watching last night's electoral stalemate between Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore. Class lessons were chucked for conversations and predictions about who would win the presidential election.\nJunior Anita Trivedi said she monitored the results Tuesday night until 4:30 a.m.\n"At that point, I had to give up because I had a 9 a.m. class," she said. \nTrivedi said she voted for Bush, who CNN declared the winner at about 2:30 a.m. before realizing the returns in Florida were too close to call. Two hours later, the electoral votes from the Sunshine State were back in the undecided category, and the country is still waiting for a winner. Trivedi said she is not worried about the election results, but was disappointed the media misinformed the public.\nSophomore Steve Charles said he went to bed at about 2:30 a.m. thinking Bush had won. When he woke up and checked CNN, he found the results were far from certain. \n"They had been wrong before in Florida earlier in the night, and I thought, I guess they are still wrong," Charles said. "The political analysts can't predict what's happening."\nSenior Jenn Dover stared at the television in the Indiana Memorial Union's Commons Wednesday after Gore spoke. He said it was essential to obey the Constitution and wait for the results of the Electoral College before determining who is president. Gore led the popular vote Wednesday afternoon, with only absentee ballots in Florida to be counted.\n"He has won the popular vote and I just want him to win," Dover said.\nBut despite all the excitement, Trivedi said America's electoral process is managing just fine.\n"It's business as usual," she said. "It's our government ... We're probably one of the few countries in the world where we have a peaceful turnover of power"