I am concerned with the recent coverage given by the Marquette Tribune to the voting results in Marquette wards on Nov. 2. It seems the Tribune would have you believe one thing about the results, while the truth indicates something else. If you crunch the numbers in the Nov. 4 graphic called "Comparing the presidential election results," it shows that Sen. Jonn Kerry (D-Mass.) received 66 percent of the vote in "Marquette wards." While the vote-count numbers reported in the graphic are true, I think that this fact is somewhat skewed and deceiving for a few reasons.

First, the Tribune failed to mention the redistricting that has occurred since the last election and its effect on the results. As I worked the polls on Nov. 2 in the AMU, I learned some of these "Marquette wards" include the surrounding neighborhood. Due to the number of African-Americans in the surrounding neighborhoods to the north and west of campus, the Marquette student vote was skewed quite heavily. One of the wards I oversaw, Ward 311, included some of Marquette's off-campus housing. Included in this "Marquette ward" were nearly 15 square blocks of residents north of State Street. Kerry won this ward resoundingly, garnering 61 percent of the votes. Including this, or another similar ward such as 310, which stretches to the west from North 20th Street and Highland Street, clearly shows a balanced look at the Marquette student vote was never truly sought by the Tribune.

To get a truly accurate portrayal of the Marquette student vote, there are a few things of which the Tribune should be aware. The other ward I watched over was much closer. Ward 312 included the area from North 21st Street to North 14th Street between West Wisconsin Avenue and West Wells Street. This ward included Mashuda, McCormick and O'Donnell residence halls and was much more competitive. Kerry received 53 percent of the votes to Bush's 47 percent.

Another piece of evidence that the Marquette vote was much closer than reported by the Tribune was a poll conducted by the O'Donnell hall resident assistants before the election. Bush carried the hall by 11 percent. Bush received 55 percent of the votes to Kerry's 44 percent and Ralph Nader's one percent.

My purpose in criticizing the Tribune's "error" is not by any means to assert that Bush won Marquette's student vote — it seems Kerry pulled out victory by a small margin — but rather that the Tribune should have looked harder at the evidence and better used its discretion to accurately portray the result of the election.

Last, I think it is important for everyone in the Marquette community to extend a collective congratulations to the various political groups on campus such as the College Republicans and College Democrats on the wonderful turnout and for providing a spirited campaign. The closeness of the student vote is a true portrayal to the hard work put in by many individuals to bring their candidates to life on campus.

Fafinski is a freshman political science major.

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