news-record.com

In this presidential primary season, pollsters and pundits galore have been employed to predict how people will vote. Economic conservatives are going for Romney, young people are backing Obama, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

But despite their best efforts, none of those professional guessers has been completely accurate.

Instead of gazing into crystal balls or calling up the psychic hot line, two graduate students have used gobs of data to delve into Guilford Countys recent presidential voting history.

The students Ian Andrew, a tech guru, and Peter Amidon, the webmaster for the Guilford County Democratic Party did a little data mining for Hamid Nemati, a professor at UNCGs Bryan School of Business and Economics.

They wondered why, in the sea of red that is North Carolina, Guilford County is an island of blue.

Amidon, who was buying a house at the time and had access to a lot of information about homes in Guilford, was curious whether the quality of the housing stock could be used to predict how a person might vote. The team also threw census data into the mix.

Using his GIS mapping skills, Andrew matched up the 2000 and 2004 presidential voting records for Guilford County precincts with the rest of the information they compiled.

As it turns out, when your home was built or its sale price doesnt tell much about your voting record.

But when the two compared the map of registered minority voters with the voting results, a pattern emerged.

The precincts with the highest percentages of registered minority voters also had the highest number of votes cast for John Kerry and Al Gore.

"We found out that the number-one factor that determined how people voted in Guilford County was race," Nemati said.

That might be something the Democratic Party already knew. But Nemati said there is value is proving the anecdotal with data, and in the future campaigns may be turning to this kind of technology to predict their fates.

If you are still scratching your head about the primary season, check out "Whats so super about 'Super Tuesday," a student-faculty forum, at 3:30 p.m. today in Room 209 of the Graham Building at UNCG.

Its time to fill out those pesky student aid forms again (or for the first time, you high school seniors).

But dont cry on your tax forms. Get help at your nearest institution of higher education.

This Saturday is FAFSA day from 9 a.m. to noon at N.C. A&T and GTCCs Jamestown campus.

At A&T, the event will be on the first floor of Smith Computer Lab, 1601 E. Market St.

At GTCC, the event will be in the open computer lab in the Applied Technologies Building, 601 High Point Road, Jamestown.

Students and parents will need to bring their 2007 federal tax returns and W-2s, as well as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid preapplication worksheet.

Check out http://CFNC.org/fafsaday for more information or to register for the event.

Looking back, the solution seems unbelievable and barbaric: preventing poverty and illegitimacy by sterilizing welfare recipients.

But thats what happened to more than 7,600 people under North Carolinas eugenics program.

The stark truth of the program will be on display at Bennett College now through May 6.

The interactive exhibit will be open for viewing at the College Gallery from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.

No need to be a student to attend these local events:

Geoff Foster, Core Technology Molding Group CEO, discusses entrepreneurship at noon today in Room 2014 of Smith Hall at N.C. A&T.

Finally, a chance to use those high school French lessons. Greensboro College hosts Francophone from 11 a.m. to noon Fridays beginning this Friday in Room 201 of the Coward Humanities Building.

UNCGs series of free family sessions begins with a parenting skills workshop from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Nicholas Vacc Counseling and Consulting Clinic. Call the clinic to sign up. 334-5112.

UNCGs "Everyday Passions: Imagining Central Asia and the Caucasus" series begins with a showing of "Beshkempir" (Adopted Son) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Room 1215 of the Moore Humanities and Research Administration Building.

Kathy Schniedwind of the National Center for Drug-Free Sports will talk at Guilford College at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Dana Auditorium. Schniedwinds talk, "Dont Wait til Urine Trouble," is free and open to the public.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com