USM Cancels Classes to Promote Voting (Maine)

[MountainLaurel]

What an awesome idea!

No classes will be held Tuesday at the University of Southern Maine to encourage students to vote on Election Day, school officials announced today.

The faculty senate acted last January to add Democracy Day to the academic calendar for the next three years. The senate responded to a resolution submitted by students Marie Follayttar and Alex Bresler.

USM is the only school in the University of Maine System to cancel classes on Election Day to encourage voter participation, school officials said.

All offices and public facilities on the university's campuses in Portland and Gorham will remain open as usual.

http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/035008.html

[CoffeeCat]

1. I applaud the USM...but I was a college student...

...and I remember what happened on nights that we had a day off the next day.

We all went out and got tanked the night before.

I imagine many students will have hangovers on Tuesday. Hopefully, they'll get up Tuesday morning at a decent hour, crawl back home, take some
asprin, get a nap and be ready to vote by about 2:00 p.m. ;)

[MountainLaurel]

2. USM is mainly a commuter school

With a large number of nontraditional students, so the greater concern might be that the students try to pick up an extra shift since they don't have classes. But I think 2:00 pm would be OK for the drunkards. ;-)