Voting A Class Requirement For Some At Drew

timrichardson writes "A Quaker literature professor at Drew University tried to make voting at the US Presidential elections a requirement for her English Lit class. NY Times has the story (free registration required)."

Comments

How would the professor know?

[HAKdragon]

Honestly, how can you prove that you voted? Unless she makes everybody present one of those "I voted today" stickers they hand out at the voting centers.

An interesting aside to this article, Fox reporters harrassed students trying to register their peers to vote in Arizona..

Re:How would the professor know?

[808140]

I think you're the one who didn't read the link.

The issue lies with a 1979 decision that states that students (temporary residents of a state) are allowed to register to vote in that state, without being permanent residents.

Unfortunately, this fact is not widely recognized by out-of-state students at universites, who believe that the only way they can vote is through the somewhat tedious process of absentee voting in their home state (or going back home to vote).

In order to encourage students to vote, the 1979 decision made it legal to vote in the state in which you are studying. From the article: In fact, despite a 1979 Supreme Court ruling affirming their right to vote where they attend school, students often encounter difficulties when they try to exercise that right.

As for the feminist attention whores thing, I'll presume you're just trolling.

Still, with a sig that paints you as rather unsupportive of ignorance, you'd think you'd at least check your facts.

Re:was he asking for trouble?

[drseuss9311]

Mod ctr2sprt up!

This is the exact point i got from RTFA.
The students are not forced to vote, but the prof is encouraging voting by letting the students know that it will somehow affect their grade.
TFA is short and at the end u get the idea that the prof's ulterior motive is to start a dialog on campus, not FORCE students to vote.

I'd be more interested in the voter turnout for the campus vs last year's turnout...

Re:was he asking for trouble?

[siriuskase]

Not only didn't you RTFA, you didn't read the little blurb that the Tims so kindly posted for your convenience.

She said she'd grade generously and on the honor system. She requires them to register, go to the polling place, and enter the booth. She does not tell them who to vote for, she does not require them to vote. It's sort of like a field trip where they can participate if they'd like, but if they just watch and learn something about the process, that's fine, too.

Her goal is to provoke discussion. So far, no students have dropped the course.

Freedom in forced voting?

[Money for Nothin']

Where's the freedom in forced voting? As Americans, is it not the right of the people not only to decide *whom* they're going to vote for, but *whether* they will vote at all?

Granted, this is a private school, and if they are funded strictly by private funds, then they can legitimately make this a requirement (students can go to other universities if they disagree with the requirement). But if the university receives government funding in any way - for research, etc. - then they are not wholly-privately-funded, they are funded in part by the public as well, and thus should be subject to the same 1st Amendment rights that government entities are.

Re:This would be a good idea...

[N3WBI3]

There is nothing harassing, offending, or illegal about it

Umm requireing me to vote for a grade is harassing, offensive, and I would imagine illegal. A teacher can no more require a student to vote than an employer can..

Re:This would be a good idea...

[TheWanderingHermit]

Why is the fact that she's a Quaker relevant, anyway?)

Because the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) has a LONG history of social activism and one of the cores of Quakerism is the belief that every individual counts and it is important that each person act according to his or her conscience.

Quakers have been at the forefront of political movements to empower individuals and recognize equality since the 1600's, when George Fox started them. (For example, Susan B. Anthony was a Quaker.)

Re:was he asking for trouble?

[RWerp]

I don't know the usa laws about this, but in any free nation you could get smacked with charges of some kind for pulling off this kinda stunt

Actually, in some countries (like Australia) voting is compulsory and you pay a fine if you don't vote.