Drexel University students will be off on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 5, for the first time in the institution’s history, with administrative offices remaining open. This closure is a direct result of efforts by the Undergraduate Student Government Association that began in 2019, with former USGA student leadership Maisie MacMullan, Jarod Watson and John Bonnes securing a half day off for students on Election Day in 2020. Former USGA President Vivek Babu continued their work, pushing for a full day off along with current USGA President Joelyne Jacob. Other USGA leadership, including Timothy Hanlon, Miranda Bottura, María José (Majo) Garcia and Sanjana Suresh also helped in this push.
In order for the day off proposal to be taken seriously by Drexel administration, USGA knew that it would need consistent civic engagement efforts. Babu started the Civic Fair in 2022, which has continued to evolve under Jacob’s leadership, as well as litter and trash management cleanup on Election Day. Drexel also received the “All In Gold Campus” award in 2020, due to a 75 percent voter turnout, and the “All In Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting” award in 2022, both initiated by the All IN Campus Democracy Challenge. These awards can be directly traced back to the efforts of USGA.
“What our pitch to a lot of upper administration, including President Fry and the Board of Trustees, was that many students really care about voting in elections, [but] the system is just not designed for them to vote, which is why we need to have a full Election Day off,” Babu said.
Jacob and Babu also expressed that it has been a struggle for the university to have a consistent schedule in regard to classes on Election Day in the past.
“One thing we really learned from students was that many professors were very inconsistent,” Babu said. ”Some professors still had class on that day…some professors even scheduled midterms on Election Day…some professors scheduled projects due then.”
Up until the half day off in 2020, the decision to hold class on Election Day was up to faculty discretion, meaning civically-focused departments such as Political Science and History canceled class, whereas STEM-focused departments still usually held classes.
“It kind of is just the automatic answer for universities, unfortunately, that Election Day is something that students should take care of on their own or figure out around their classes, which like Vivek said is nearly impossible when you go to an accelerated school,” Jacob said.
Babu highlighted that in a fast-paced, academically focused environment such as the Drexel quarter system, a day off from classes was seen as a big loss.
“A lot of administrators lost sight of the larger picture which was about having students participate in democracy…lifelong voting skills…skills that are so equally important to our academics that need to have a university-wide solidified policy,” Babu said.
The civic efforts were coupled with the coordination of the Lindy Center, Drexel Votes, the Office of Government and Resources, the Office of Student Life and the Faculty Senate. Support from USGA’s advisors Katie Zamulinsky, EdD, associate vice president and dean of Student Life and Subir Sahu, PhD, senior vice president for Student Success, allowed for Drexel administration to approve the proposal for no classes on Election Day, adding it to the university’s registrar.
Jacob and current USGA Vice President Katie Moorcones also restarted the Inter City Council, helping other Philadelphia universities in the efforts to get Election Day off.
“One of our goals moving forward now that we have Election Day off is to help other schools in their missions in Philly to get that day off as well, because if we’re getting it off, every student in Philly should have that opportunity, no matter what university they go to,” Jacob said.
USGA will be tracking student feedback on having Election Day off, potentially via a feedback form sent out in Winter term, but also through their inbox and responses to their flyers and signage regarding Election Day. Student feedback will be reported to Zamulinsky and Sahu. USGA has also made it clear that getting Election Day off is only the first step in their efforts. It will be a continued initiative until it is accepted by everyone at the university.