Home > News > Class attendance on caucus night leaves some students and facutly upset
Class attendance on caucus night leaves some students and facutly upset
BY DAYNA D. LANDGREBE
CONTRIBUTIONS BY LISA KUNKEL
STATESMAN STAFF WRITERS
ISSUE: 78/20
The momentum of the presidential elections is drawing the youth vote in unprecedented numbers. However, between obligations of school and work, some students could be left with the decision to choose classes over the polling precincts. When associate professor of psychology Mitzie Doane heard that classes falling in the 90-minute voting window would not be canceled for the Super Tuesday caucus, she was in disbelief.
“Truthfully, I was pretty upset about it. I e-mailed the vice chancellor (Vince Magnuson) and got back this standard message saying that I had to be there [class],” she said. The e-mail, sent Jan. 8, described that classes would not be canceled and it was presumed that teachers would be in the classroom. Doane did not relent and was finally granted the right to cancel class. “Consistent with Minnesota State law, at their December 2005 meeting, the board of Regents approved a resolution authorizing the University of Minnesota to schedule classes and events caucus night,” read the e-mail, which was sent to all faculty from Magnuson.
However, the e-mail went on to say that accommodations could be made. “If a faculty or staff member scheduled to teach on Tuesday night wants to attend their party caucus, or if enough of their students indicate that they will be attending caucus so that holding class becomes impractical, instructors may either cancel class or make reasonable alternative arrangements,” read the e-mail. Doane, in response, chose to cancel her originally scheduled night class. “The message was loud and clear that we should be going to caucus … this is the greatest right I have—I wanted to participate,” she said.
While some professors, like Doane, did cancel classes, other students were forced to make the choice—sit with your money or lose your vote. “No, I didn’t [vote]; I wanted to but I had class,” senior Alex Nordehn said. Nordehn said that in the past his class had been canceled when it fell on caucus night, but not this year.
Between campaign groups and the media, the pressure to get the vote out is at an all-time high and people are listening. “I think it does make a difference and is really important to vote,” freshman Arielle Cypress Schnur said. “When 9/11 happened most, of us were junior high, high school age and now I think it’s time for us to use our voice in the presidential elections. We want change and I think that’s why our [age] group is stepping up this year.”
It seems clear that Duluth voters are driven to make a change, especially students. The highest amount of votes cast on the Super Tuesday in Duluth was in precinct 10, UMD, according to results of the Duluth News Tribune. This record amount of student participation resulted in rooms overflowing with students who were voicing their opinions. Many students are hoping that, at some point, the idea of change will outweigh the thought that one person’s voice or vote doesn’t count. “I think it’s that we’re such a large group that we might still be seen as lazy even though there are so many of us that do turn out to vote,” Cypress Schnur said.
Likewise, between the duties of class, schoolwork and jobs, the call to vote can seem like an impossibility. For some students like Laura Reiter, researching politics is just one more thing to add to the mounting to-do list. “You want to be able to voice your opinion but at the same time you don’t have how many hours and if the politics don’t interest you, it’s hard to make yourself do it,” she said.
So what is bringing people out to the polls? “I think a lot of people are sensing that we’re at a point in our history … We have these really big problems, and it’s becoming more apparent that this is the decision point in which direction to go,” said Garrick Percival, assistant professor of political science. Whether students are participating in the voting process by choice or because of obligation, no person should have to choose to forfeit their class, job or vote for a 90-minute voting period.
“When do you put money ahead of the most important right we have?” said Doane. Doane explained that her students won’t miss the canceled class but the class will be made up during finals week. She even opted to offer her students extra credit to attend the caucus on Tuesday. Perhaps, in following years, students and teachers won’t be forced to make the choice between wishing they could vote and actually doing it.
