BY COLIN CATCHINGS &LAWRENCE SIMMONS

Staff Writers

Voters in Starkville and the rest of the 3rd Congressional District will have the opportunity to choose between Democrat Joel Gill and Republican

Gregg Harper for a seat in the House of Representatives Tuesday.

Gill said he should be elected because of his 38 years of business experience.

“I know what it is to make a payroll,” he said. “I bring the experience of being a twice-elected public official, and believe me, you get used to solving people’s

individual problems when you’re sitting there on that Board of Aldermen.”

He also said because the National Democratic Party has not contributed to his campaign, he would not be expected to toe the party line and would only be beholden to Mississippi’s 3rd District.

Harper’s campaign’s general staffer

Jordan Downs said Harper should be elected because of his family values.

“Gregg is pro-life, he believes in the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, he has been a Sunday School teacher and deacon at his church,” he said. “We just believe that Gregg’s stance on those issues puts him in line with the ideals of the people of the 3rd district.”

He said Harper has been in con-tact with some administrative officials at Mississippi State University and plans on being a big supporter of the school.

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Committee seekshelpers for food drive

Candidates battle for control ofChip Pickering’s former seat

ARIEL NACHTIGAL | THE REFLECTOR

Students cast their vote in the Mitchell Memorial Library during Tuesday’s election. 2.5 percent of students voted for a third-party candidate.

The

T H E S T U D E N T N E W S P A P E R O F M I S S I S S I P P I S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y S I N C E 1884

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Harper, Gill square off for 3rd District control

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BULLDOGS EYEWEEKEND VICTORY

OVER WILDCATS

Barack Obama defeats John McCain in MSU’s mock student election

Halloween carnival entertains guestsProceeds to aid little girl’s fight

with cancer

BY PATRICK YOUNG | Staff Writer

Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama won the MSU Decision ’08 mock election held Tuesday. Obama won the student-only vote with 52 percent of the vote. John McCain received 45.5 percent of the vote while third-party candidate Ralph Nader received 2.5 percent. 832 votes were cast in the mock election.

The election was sponsored by the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, MSU Student Association, Black Student Alliance, Pre-Law Society and the Stennis-Montgomery Association.

Leonia Fowler, Holmes Cultural Diversity Center graduate assistant, said the organizations involved in the event helped make sure students of all ethnicities and political ideologies knew about the election.

“All of these organizations are connected to a diverse group of students,” Fowler said.The notion of a student-held election began in the summer.

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BY SARAH COLE

Staff Writer

Campus Activities Board hosted parents and children of all ages at the 36th annual Halloween Carnival Tuesday evening in the Junction.

Children in Halloween costumes filled the Junction and enjoyed booths with games, candy and prizes sponsored by local organizations.

CAB special events committee leader Dejanae Banks said proceeds from the carnival go to a different child each year. This year’s proceeds will go to Jolene Sexton.

She was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma, a cancer that affects both eyes, when she was four months old. She is currently at St. Jude’s Hospital undergoing her ninth out of 11 rounds of chemotherapy, and has responded well to treatment.

Banks said Sexton’s mother, Julie, is an associate extension professor in the school of human sciences at Mississippi State.

Banks said the carnival is a fun event for children in the area.

“It’s more of a community thing,” she said. “It’s us reaching out to all of our kids in the surrounding areas. Organizations come up with these really cool games — we have cake walk, we’ve got a bean bag toss —

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Group needs 200 volunteers for

Nov. 7 donations

STUDENTSELECT OBAMA

BY WILL FERRAEZ

Contributing Writer

Mississippi State University’s Com-mittee of 19 is collaborating with the Society of St. Andrew to end local hunger. Students will bag gleaned po-tatoes for distribution at the Palmeiro Center Nov. 7. Approximately 200 students are needed for the Friday po-tato drop-off.

Despite the fact MSU’s committee is only a year old, it has met with consid-erable success in the past. In 2007, the group coordinated a potato drop that netted 20,000 pounds of potatoes.

Chiquita Briley, MSU associate pro-fessor of food science, nutrition and health promotion, said although cur-ing immediate hunger is viable and righteous, she wants to extend MSU’s efforts to focus on a long-term ap-proach.

“As time goes on, we can hopefully have researchers look at the issue of poverty,” she said. “By doing these

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HALLOWEEN HAUNTS STARKVILLE MUSIC SCENE

EDITORIAL: ROGER WICKER SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN AD FLIRTS WITH HOMOPHOBIA

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