University of Virginia Library

Business As Usual

The Student Council's request that
President Shannon suspend classes on election
day to facilitate student participation in the
electoral process should not be approved.
Council's intention–to give students
maximum encouragement to vote–is
commendable, but its action–to ask for a
suspension of classes–is not justifiable by any
standards.

If November 7 were a national holiday
with everyone given the day off, Council's
idea would be absolutely appropriate and
President Shannon would be dead wrong not
to approve it. However, since the rest of the
voters–the doctors, journalists, auto
mechanics, secretaries, and university
administrators–must put in a full day's work,
there is no reason why students should be
given the day off.

If anything, students have less reason
to need time off from business as usual
than do most other voters. Students have far
more flexible and open schedules than almost
anyone, and their failure to vote is a function
of their apathy, not of their time. Regardless
of a student's political inclinations, he will
have no trouble voting if he really wants to. It
is not difficult to register, and no high school
graduate can claim not to have known of the
absentee ballot.

If students want to go home to vote, to
campaign, or to help get out the vote, they
are welcome to and should by all means go.
But they should simply miss classes on their
own initiative and take the responsibility and
bear the consequences (if there are any) of
doing so. We of course encourage students to
take an active role in the electoral process,
but, unless the same standard is applied to all
citizens, we see no reason why students
should be given the day off.

Hopefully President Shannon and the
deans of the schools will see the inequity of
closing the University on November 7 and
reject the Council proposal. Either that, or
persuade President Nixon to give everyone the
day off.