The nine American River College student leaders targeted for recall after the campus government voted to support a statewide ballot measure banning same-sex marriage will remain in office, campus officials announced late afternoon Thursday.

It remains to be seen whether the campus vote, which was seen by many as a referendum on Proposition 8, will be a bellwether for the state or an anomaly.

In either case, the vote is the latest victory for a group of politicized Christian fundamentalists who have gone from outsiders to power-wielders in a matter of months.

A heated campus debate and the recall effort were ignited by a vote late last month by student leaders to endorse Proposition 8, which seeks to restore the ban on same-sex marriages that was overturned by the state Supreme Court.

"We lost the battle, but not the war. We're going to keep fighting for equality," said Manny Joslyn, a recall leader. "We're not going to give up."

The recall attracted the highest election turnout in recent ARC history with 3,531 students voting, about 9 percent of the 39,000 enrollment.

Surviving the recall effort were Jacob Johnson, Blaze Jeppesen, Viktor Choban, Alex Malash, Carolina Burachek, Veronika Vorbyov, Jorge Riley, Heather Johnson and Vladimir Musovrischi.

The individual results differed, but all of the recall targets survived by a 240-300 vote margin. The vote took place Tuesday and Wednesday at the ARC main campus and at the Natomas satellite campus.

Campus President David Viar applauded the democratic process on display.

"We expect at a college as large and diverse as ARC, debates and differences on issues will occur," Viar said. "While such debates occur, American River College will remaina welcoming learning environment for all students, and we will promote teaching students how to address issues in a positive and thoughtful manner."

Riley said he hoped the vote will lead to more involvement in campus politics. In the last election, 545 students voted.

"I'm happier about the number of students that voted than staying in office,"

Riley said. Riley said he felt the vote reflected the community support for Proposition 8, which is on the Nov.4 statewide ballot. "This just shows that those judges had no place overturning the law."

Vorbyov, one of the Christian fundamentalists at the center of the campus uproar, said the results give her greater confidence in gauging the will of the people.

The Christian Civilization Club became active in campus politics after losing its status as an official campus organization.The majority of it's members are immigrants from the former Soviet Union who came to the United States to escape religious persecution.

In recent elections, the club has run slates of candidates and had a clear organizational edge. Almost weekly, members set up a display of the Ten

Commandments and distribute literature. This week, they turned their attention to the recall with signs in English and Russian. Thursday, they wore T-shirts, carried signs and marched on campus.

Nearly, 4,000 ARC students are of Slavic descent.

The opposition group, which collected the signatures needed to trigger the recall, was less organized.

The recall effort was supported by several organizations including the Native American Student Union, Latinos Unidos, GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,

Transgender and Questioning Youth) and ARC Campus Progress.

Opposition leaders said the Proposition 8 vote was a galvanizing factor. They were also critical of the Student Association's move to increase the funding at its discretion by reducing the allocation to campus clubs.

Recall leader Nancy Dziuba had questions about campaign tactics.

A flier opposing the recall offers a list of the officers' accomplishments in English. But on the back, the advice in Russian was more to the point.

"Stop Homosexuals," it begins, according to one of the students supporting Proposition 8.