Students detail plans to revisit petition in the next four years
Emily Anderson
Contributing Writer
Recently, two students of the College of Wooster, Monét Davis ’19 and Jordan Griffith ’19, started a petition to have classes cancelled on Election Day this year. Inspired by Northwestern University’s announcement in June that classes would be cancelled on Election Day in order to allow students to participate in a “Day of Civil Service” around the community, Davis and Griffith set about attempting to make the same thing happen at Wooster. Beginning back in early July, the team began drafting a plan that would, “create an environment around voting that would stimulate civic engagement as well as keeping that commitment to being civically engaged moving forward,”said Griffith.
To them, this was about much more than simply having a day off for voting.
The motivation behind the idea was simple: “We wanted to create an environment that has people thinking beyond casting their ballot,” said Griffith. Ultimately, they wanted students to feel, “a little less cynical about the process,” particularly students registered in Ohio, one of the top five most critical states for swinging the election, according to statician Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.
Changing the mindset of the cynical, apathetic voter was very important in coming up with the framework for the proposal. “That apathy stems from the idea that your vote doesn’t matter. We want to change that,” said Griffith. “There’s a chance to show that our voice matters significantly, both at the local environment, as well as federally.”
But why does this apathy exist in the first place? In Davis’ eyes, it’s all about an individual’s physical ability to vote. “The people who are least represented in this country,” she said, “are minorities, the working class, and students. Many of the reasons why these groups of people are misrepresented are because they’re overworked. They can’t get to the polls.” The inability to physically get to the polls is an issue that many students face for a variety of reasons, particularly a lack of transportation and an overwhelming schedule. “It’s a challenge for students,” said Davis, “and Wooster has a demanding curriculum. How are you supposed to be civically engaged as a student and be responsible with your life? It should be a guaranteed right.”
“For a large population, it was a hard-earned right,” Griffith continues, “We should be providing every single opportunity for people to cast that ballot.” Davis and Griffith believe that cancelling classes and enacting a day of civic engagement on Election Day can be exactly that sort of opportunity for students.
In coming up with their proposal, it was important for Griffith and Davis to make Election Day about more than simply cancelling classes. “If you’re registered in Wayne County, this is your community,” said Davis, “We wanted to connect with that.” In lieu of classes, there would be various volunteer opportunities for students around the community, including helping with carpools to voting locations, volunteering at the polls and other types of work in the community. The goal is to provide engagement opportunities surrounding the idea of voting in order to keep people involved in the process not just now, but for years to come.
With their idea solidified, Davis and Griffith reached out to student leaders of various organizations on campus to gauge interest and see if this was something that could be feasibly implemented. The response they received was not only overwhelmingly positive but came from an incredibly diverse selection of groups on campus. With other student leaders behind them, the next objective was to reach out to faculty and staff to set the groundwork and see whether or not different departments could provide assistance. Among others, Professor John Rudisill and the philosophy department, as well as Professor Angie Bos and the political science department, were particularly enthusiastic and supportive. “We definitely think the enthusiasm and support is there from the faculty,” said Davis, “People really think this would help the student body in the long run.”
Despite support from the students and faculty, the plan for the day off was quickly shut down by the Educational Planning Committee, which rejected the idea of scheduling a day off classes. Davis and Griffith attribute a large part of this to the fact that the faculty votes on the four year calendar in advance and once the votes are in, the calendar is practically set in stone. The timeline proposed made it very difficult for arrangements to be made at such short notice, but as Griffith pointed out, “each election is unique and each timeline is different,” meaning that in moving forward, arrangements would need to be made far in advance in order to feasibly make an event like this work.
All obstacles aside, the team is optimistic for the future of this project. “The path forward is a lot easier and clearer, given the responses we’ve received,” said Davis.
Griffith agreed, saying, “Regardless of if we are able to see this as students, we hope that in the long run, Wooster will be able to make this happen for the students. [The day] is not really about cancelling classes at all. It’s just a chance to facilitate everything else we want to do.”
Moving forward, Davis and Griffith encourage both individuals as well as student groups to contact them if they are interested in making this proposal a reality. “Your support would mean a lot to us,” said Davis, “The more people we can get, the more impactful we can be. We need administration to see that the student body cares about this, not just two students.” Their first step is to reorganize and try to create a plan that doesn’t require a day off for this year. From there, they hope to coordinate with the Wooster Volunteer Network to create opportunities for civic engagement. They also hope to cosponsor a forum with the Wooster Democrats in early October for local political candidates to come to the College as a connection between the community and the campus, and an opportunity to see what changes are happening at the local level, not just the federal level.
Though their initial proposal was turned down, Davis and Griffith remain hopeful that their project will pan out in the end. “I don’t think this will be hard,” said Davis, “I don’t think it will be hard to get Wooster students involved. I think Wooster students care. We care about this community. We care about this country. I have faith that students will want to come out and help with this.”
Griffith agreed. “At the end of the day, this isn’t about us,” he said, “This isn’t even necessarily about the current student body. It’s about fostering an environment that instills inclinations to be more civically engaged beyond just an exciting election that happens every four years. We want to keep people focused and excited about the voting process overall. We have hope moving forward that we can make this happen.”