Despite campuses around the nation announcing Election Day holidays, as of now, Oakland University does not have plans to do so. Recently, Wayne State University (WSU) designated this year’s presidential election on Tuesday, Nov. 3 a campus-wide holiday in hopes of increasing voter turnout.

“This holiday will afford faculty, staff and students the liberty to put their civic duty first,” WSU President M. Roy Wilson said last month.

This announcement comes just weeks after Michigan State University announced that they will implement a fall break that includes Election Day. In light of this, students and faculty at OU are discussing what similar measures could do for increasing civic engagement on campus.

“Our students can get home, so it’s much easier for them to vote in [their] home precinct than maybe at MSU,” said David Dulio, professor of political science and director of OU’s Center for Civic Engagement, in response to MSU’s new fall break. “There are interesting differences and hurdles in how we can get our students to engage — they’re just different.”

OU has a population of over 19,000 students, but only 16% of those students live on campus. MSU, on the other hand, has a population of over 50,000 and houses around 32% of its students on campus. The notable differences in scale, campus demographics and the large number of commuters at OU may account for administration’s decision not to implement a break.

Some OU professors, however, have instituted their own practices to increase civic engagement.

“In the past, if I teach on Election Day, I tell my students if they email me a selfie of themselves with their ‘I Voted’ sticker, that I’ll count it as an excused absence,” Kathleen Battles, a communication professor at OU, said.

Battles said she believes everyone should at least have the opportunity to vote and that right should not be stunted by obligations such as school or work.

“I think Election Day should be a federal holiday for everybody,” she said. “I think it’s great Michigan State is doing it, and I think Oakland should do it, too.”

Among 18- to 29-year-olds, voter turnout went from 20% in 2014 to 36% in 2018, the largest percentage point increase for any age group, according to the United States Census Bureau. This exemplifies young people’s growing interest in civic engagement and why many institutions are implementing programs in response to support that.

“I had to leave work and class early to be able to exercise my right to vote,” Christina Quirk, a communication student and campus employee, said. “I think closing the university and giving students and faculty a day off shows that the university supports its attendants’ voting rights and is promoting getting out to the polls.”

Regardless of the lack of plans to implement a campus holiday for Election Day, OU has a history of strong civic engagement efforts that are sure to be showcased during the upcoming 2020 presidential elections. Successful past efforts are likely to be reinstated, such as bear buses providing rides for students to the polls, debate watch parties and material to help navigate the voting process.

Last year, OU was designated a “voter-friendly campus” by Campus Vote Project and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). This designation is awarded to universities and colleges that planned and implemented practices that encouraged students to register and vote in the 2018 elections, and through 2019, 2020 and beyond. OU is one of only 15 higher education institutions in the state of Michigan to receive the designation.