Monday, November 27, 2000
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
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President's 'honeymoon' of approval could dwindle
By Megahn Snyder Special to the Kansan
Americans who vote for the losing candidate tend to raise their approval of the winning candidate for a couple of months after the election, but the next president's "honeymoon period" may be shorter than usual, according to research by Mark Joslyn, professor of political science.
During the period, the winner has a high approval rating because he has not done anything to upset the public, and people who vote for the losing candidate tend to shift their approval to the winning candidate, according to Joslyn's survey.
Joslyn believes voters for the losing candidate change their minds because there is a consensus among Americans that the system is fair, so accepting the candidate as the winner makes him look more favorable than before.
However, because Gore has a good chance of winning the popular vote but losing the electoral college, Joslyn said the American public could change its mind about the fairness of the system.
Gore supporters might see the system as less fair, and therefore, won't be as ant to embrace Bush.
He said another reason for increased approval for the winning candidate from the voters of the losing candidate was the change in politics after the election.
Voters play up their candidate's strengths while accentuating the opponent's weaknesses. When one is elected, they start to look at the in a more realistic light.
Americans gradually begin to look at the president-elect not as the person running against their candidate, but as the new president.
This change leads to a rise in approval for the new president.
Joslyn said he anticipated the surveys given after the election would be consistent with pre-election surveys until a resolution was reached because Americans still saw this as a partisan issue with each candidate attacking the other's weaknesses.
Emily Witt, a Great Bend senior who voted for Gore, said that although she thought Bush most likely would be the next president, she hadn't moved toward the Republican side. She is still critical
"He has to understand he is looking like a jerk with all these protests even though he knows he has won already," she said.
of Bush's actions.
Joslyn said the rise in favorability based on sociology. When the American people realize more people voted for the opponent, they tend to change their minds to conform to the majority.
He said the honeymoon period usually only lasted for a couple of months. After that, the new president starts implementing policies, and the American people begin to criticize him.
Joslyn said the American people changed their perceptions of the candidate rather than their values. When the president makes decisions contrary to their values, they revert back to their original mindset.
Joslyn said the new president could suffer because of the short honeymoon.
"The honeymoon period is where the president sets his agenda," he said. "With a short honeymoon period, it makes his job more difficult."
— Edited by Erin McDaniel
Now that Nov. 7 is past and almost all elections have been determined, voters will find out what office holders are really going to do.
Special to the Kansas
Study determines politicians are motivated by principles
Rex Theroux France
rain schumaker, professor of political science, can't predict exactly what politicians will do, but he has a pretty good idea about how they'll make their decisions. They will follow their principles, he says.
"I wanted to find out the justice principles held by policy makers and whether these principles affected their decisions," Schumaker said.
He has been working on an eight-year research project to determine whether policy makers are motivated by their principles or by the pressure put on them by various community interests.
After interviewing 119 elected officials in 12 major cities, he found that policy makers based their decisions on their personal principles more than on pressures from constituents.
Schumaker said that this finding ran contrary to what many political scientists had been trained to think.
"In most cases, my own principles and my constituency's are similar."
Barbara Ballard
associate vice chancellor and 43rd
District State Representative
"We normally think it's the interests that people have, but it turned out that principles were the best predictor of what they'll do," he said.
After conducting interviews with each official, Schumaker determined that almost all of them ranked equal opportunity as a key principle. However, he said each politician interpreted equal opportunity in a different way.
Most officials also concluded that disadvantaged groups needed a "leg-up" to provide fair competition — another prominent principle.
— another prominent principle.
lucky to provide an competition
— another prominent principle.
"The public officials I spoke with strongly believed people needed an equal chance to succeed," Schumaker said.
More information
To see video of the interview with Paul Shumaker, professor of political science,
See www.kansan.com
He focused on 21 principles that the officials identified with. The officials' principles were strongly related to their self-defined ideologies and party identification, he said.
Schumaker found that in some cities, officials' principles were less about justice than promoting economic prosperity.
"I found, especially in Lawrence, that elected officials were not particularly concerned about principles of justice," he said. "They were more concerned with issues of economic development."
Barbara Ballard, associate vice chancellor and 43rd District State Representative, said that the interests of her constituency came first.
However, she said she didn't ignore her principles, either.
"In most cases, my own principles and my constituency's are similar," Ballard said.
Edited by Casey Franklin
Crafting clay
Graphics design student Melissa Medina, Mulvane junior, spins the night away working on her final projects of the semester yesterday. She needed to craft four identical cups as a part of her final assignments for her Ceramics I class.
Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
University choirs prepare for 76th Holiday Vespers
By Meghan Bainum
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Holiday Vespers has been going off without a hitch for 75 years, and the KU Symphony Orchestra and other KU choirs hope this year's 76th performance will run just as smoothly.
The concert features several KU choirs and the KU Symphony Orchestra. The two performances are scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 10, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Brian Priestman, director of KU Svmhony Orchestra, said it took a lot of
work to coordinate the hundreds of KU students involved, but the musicians weren't daunted.
"Musicians don't get stressed out," he said. "We pace ourselves."
Priestman said the groups involved learned the music for the concert in about a week and then had four group rehearsals to make the show ready for an audience.
Simon Carrington, director of the KU chamber choir, said there were tense moments, but the concert had always gone off well.
"The first dress rehearsal on the last Friday before the performance is usually
fairly shaky, and I go even graver than I am already," he said. "But amazingly we are normally just ready in time for the two performances on the Sunday."
He said the concert had been broadcast coast to coast on National Public Radio and also appeared on public television stations nationally.
Priestman said quite a lot was riding on Vespers because it was a nationally known part of the University.
"It's more than a concert," Priestman said. "It's a Christmas rite of passage."
International Experience
— Edited by Casey Franklin
International students and Study Abroad participants during the last two years
Study Abroad participants KU degree-seeking students
763
1998 to 1999
988 1999 to 2000
International students
1446 Fall 1998
Source: University Relations
1547 Fall 1999
Melissa Carr/KANSAN
By Kursten Phelps
writer@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
International enrollment study abroad going strong
More international students are choosing the University of Kansas and more KU-students are opting to study abroad, University officials said.
The Office of International Student Services reported that this fall 1,586 international students, constituting 6.1 percent of the student body, were enrolled at KU.
This number is up from the fall 1999, when there were 1,547 international students. However, international students still comprised 6.1 percent of the student body because there were fewer students enrolled last fall.
That increase follows a national trend, with more than half a million international students studying at U.S. universities, according to Open Doors 2000, an Institute of International Education report issued last week.
Daniel Catlla, Cochabamba, Bolivia, sophomore, said he chose to attend the University because his brother was a KU student, but he thought the
University's atmosphere attracted a lot of international students.
"Lawrence itself is not so big," he said. "It's maybe safer and not as scary as big cities. I think its nicer that you've got a pretty small community. You know a lot of people and are always running into somebody you know."
American students are also increasingly getting an international education experience through study abroad programs.
The Office of Study Abroad reported 988 U.S. students seeking degrees at the University participated in a study abroad program last school year, up from 763 in the 1998-1999 school year.
Katie Adamson, Ottawa senior, was one of those students. She spent February through June of this year in Australia.
She said that although she took only one class directly related to her advertising major, the experience was priceless.
"I always wanted to experience going somewhere else and I always wanted go to Australia," Adamson said. "I thought that now was the best time because I'm not really tied down."
— Edited by Erin Adamson
Student Senate Executive Secretary
position
Must be enrolled as a KU student. Appointment will run to May 1, 2001. 15 office hours per week, flexible with class schedule. Requires availability on Wednesday evenings and one other evening twice monthly
now available
Applications are available in the Student Senate Office, 410 Kansas Union. Must be returned by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 30, 2000.
for Spring 2001
Any questions, call the Student Senate Office, 864-3710
Happy Holidays