Every fall, hundreds of University students are engaged in political campaigns that culminate on the first Tuesday of November, Election Day. However, on Election Day itself, many students are unable to participate as much as they would like because the University has a regular class schedule. The University community would benefit greatly if no classes, tests, or deadlines were scheduled for Election Day and if buses were provided to polling locations.
Most obviously, without classes, students would be more likely to vote. Without the excuses of classes and exams, students can devote plenty of time to walking to their polling locations and voting. Other students might take the opportunity to go home to vote. Canceling classes would encourage civic participation and prevent barriers to students' civic education.
Easier access to the polls and greater recognition of the importance of civic engagement would encourage more students to register to vote here in Charlottesville. This would bring about substantial benefits for the University community, because the more students that register in Charlottesville, the more likely it becomes that students will be treated as an identifiable voting bloc. Issues important to students would finally be taken seriously by candidates and politicians courting the student vote. The large student body of over 14,000 undergraduates could make a difference in close elections; for instance, Senator Jim Webb won election in 2006 by less than 10,000 votes. Albemarle county elections are routinely decided by less than a thousand votes.
Liberty University is a great example of this point. Liberty's more than 10,000 students are given the day off, strongly encouraged to vote, and shuttled to the polls. This has made politicians eager to cater to such an active and powerful voting bloc; Liberty students played a huge role in a recent state delegate race and became the central focus for a mayoral campaign. Liberty Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr., a University Law School alumnus, said that Liberty's large voter turnout would show that it is not OK to take advantage of students, their families, or the university. Canceling classes would similarly benefit University students by giving them a greater voice in statewide and particularly local politics. This would, in turn, strengthen ties between the University and the Charlottesville community, where a good number of students remain post-graduation.
Many students involved in the campaigns would also be given the opportunity to see them through to their conclusions. From experience, I know that working months on a campaign only to spend all of Election Day in classrooms or the library is very agonizing. Other students might choose to assist voters at the polls or to provide transportation to those who need rides in order to vote. In this way, canceling classes would be a great opportunity to demonstrate the University's support for its civically engaged students.
One of the great things about this University is how we're encouraged to be a part of the broader Charlottesville community through programs like Madison House. The administration should recognize that voting and volunteering on campaigns is one of the most fundamental ways we as students can help shape the community we have all come to consider home; they should do everything in their power to allow us to do so. Though canceling classes is, indeed, a large request, the University should at least discourage professors, such as Economics Prof. Kenneth Elzinga, from scheduling exams on the evening of Election Day. Although such a request might compel Prof. Elzinga to revise his carefully crafted ECON 2010 lesson plans, the cost of doing so is far outweighed by the benefit of increased civic engagement at the University. Rather, the University should encourage voting by providing shuttles to polling locations and urging professors to move exams from Election Day.
Granting students Election Day off would demonstrate the University's eagerness to give its students a voice both on- and off-Grounds. College should prepare students to live as productively and happily as possible, and I can think of no better way than setting them up for a life of strong civic engagement.
Leslie Welsh is a member of the University Democrats and a fourth-year student in the College.
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