Come Election Day — Nov. 5, 2024 — students who are registered to vote will struggle to find time to make it to the polls. Many students have busy schedules that are incompatible with the distance and traffic of the polling locations at the Union and LBJ buildings. It doesn’t have to be this way — if professors were to cancel their classes on Election Day, students would be able to make time to exercise their civic duty.
This is the first presidential election that many UT students are eligible to vote in, and with such a close polling margin between the two candidates, there is an even greater need for high voter turnout among college students.
Professors freeing up class time for students to go and vote implies the importance of civic participation outside the classroom.
Professors are figures of authority, and their words and actions are undoubtedly valuable to their students. Canceling class on Election Day sends a message to students that exercising their civic duty is important, which would help decrease the voter apathy that plagues young people.
Taylor Franklin, political communications senior and TX Votes digital chair, believes that her professor canceling class enhanced her voting experience.
“My professor canceled class (for us) to go vote a couple of years ago … and it was way easier than trying to find time out of my three classes a day to vote,” Franklin said. “I think that if there was more availability in a college student’s schedule on Election Day, then they could go and get it done quicker.”
The lines at the voting locations are understandably long on Election Day, especially considering that both of UT’s are at opposite ends of campus. Without class in the way, students can make time to wait in these lines rather than scrambling to find a gap between classes, meetings and other responsibilities.
A common solution to the hassle of Election Day troubles is to vote early. This can help students avoid the time-consuming chaos of long lines and the stress that comes with trying to find time to vote on Election Day.
“I’ve had professors (ask) me in the past, ‘Why didn’t you early vote?’” said Adelaide Escott, political communications senior and communications and events intern at the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life. “But as college students … there’s not a time for a lot of people other than Election Day where they’re reminded constantly to get out and vote.”
It is considerably easier for students to make plans to vote on Election Day rather than going through the tedious process of getting a mail-in ballot or searching for early voting polling locations. When considering the busy schedule of a college student, early voting may not be as easily accessible as voting on Election Day.
“(Professors) say that what starts here changes the world, but if we can’t even get out to the polls on Election Day, then how are we supposed to start changing the world?” Escott said. “I think a lot of students would be excited and proud that their professors gave them (class) time to let them have their voice heard.”
With the Texas Capitol sitting on the edge of our campus, the call for civic life among UT students is strong. However, it is up to professors to answer by canceling their classes to give their students time to vote on Election Day.
Herman is a Plan II and psychology sophomore from Southlake, Texas.
