Election Day does not guarantee a day off for students at AU, as the decision to cancel class on Tuesday is in the hands of individual professors.
AU does not cancel all classes on Election Day. The decision to cancel classes on Election Day is one of heated debate at universities around the country.
A staff editorial in The Bi-College Online News, the online newspaper for Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, said students and staff could face negative repercussions if classes were held on Election Day, including missing important lectures or arriving late to work.
The Bryn Mawr student body even proposed a resolution to cancel classes, yet their request was not granted.
"By disregarding the Election Day resolution, the college's administrators have made the choice to disenfranchise the majority of the Bryn Mawr community," the editorial stated.
Liberty University, a fundamentalist Baptist university in Lynchburg, Va., is set to cancel classes on Nov. 4. University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said Liberty is using the initiative of canceling class to make sure all students vote, according to The Washington Post.
"Wouldn't it be something if Liberty's votes were enough to change which presidential candidate won Virginia and maybe even the presidency itself," he told the Post.
Margaret Marr, director of the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program, said she does not have any classes on that meet on Election Day, but if she did, she would not cancel them.
"I would understand if students missed class [on Election Day], but I also understand that some students want to get the full benefit of their education dollar," she said.
Marr said it is her duty to show up for work no matter the day, but that there might be merit to a university-wide holiday.
"In general, I can see why it would make sense for universities to make Election Day a holiday," she said.
Kyle Bradshaw, a freshman in SPA, said he thinks Election Day should be a holiday.
"I think making Election Day a university-wide day off would make students even more aware, at least on some level, of the election process," she said.
However, Student Government President Seth Cutter said that in order for Election Day to be considered a national holiday, it would need to be instated by the federal government. It would also generate conflicts with the university calendar, Cutter said.
"I really don't think professors need to cancel class on Election Day," he said. "At AU, most students are out of state anyway, so they must vote by absentee ballot."
Professors could ask whether students are planning on voting locally, and then make a decision to cancel class based on the response.
Regardless of how students are voting, having regular classes is proving to be a conflict for those who want to participate in other Election Day activities.
Civic duty takes priority over class, according to Shea Baker, a freshman in SPA.
"None of my classes are cancelled on Election Day, but I will be working the polls so I will have to miss them," he said.
Cutter said it is beneficial for professors and students to hold classes on Election Day.
"Faculty can use the election, if they choose to provide a backdrop for how the election, policies at stake in the election, and the general positions of all candidates might affect their field," he said. "It can be a great day for practical exploration."
You can reach this writer at news@theeagleonline.com.
