OUR OPINION: Students should have the opportunity to speak in class about political issues that are relevant to the course materials, and this would create informed voters.
Students are often swamped with schoolwork, jobs and extra curricular activities and may have been too busy to pay attention to the political hubbub surrounding the election.
Fortunately, students can have the opportunity to learn about the issues if instructors and professors allow it by holding open forums about the candidates and their platforms in class.
Jessica Moore, an assistant professor in communication, is holding forums in her classes about the election and said even courses that are seemingly unrelated to politics can be tied to the issues in this election.
Moore said there are always opportunities to relate politics to the class and “regardless of the subject matter, there’s always a way to make a connection with the subject matter.” For instance, biology classes can discuss stem cell research, accounting classes can discuss the cost of the War in Iraq and engineering classes can discuss alternative sources of energy.
If professors and instructors cannot spare the time to hold in-class forums, there are alternative ways to get students invovled. Alton Banks, a professor in chemistry, in past years gave extra credit to students who voted.
While we applaud the efforts of the professors and instructors who encourage political involvement, they must remember that they are extremely influential. They should refrain from expressing their own opinions in the forums and not treat this as an opportunity to recruit votes for a certain candidate.
Also, professors and instructors should not be the only ones responsible for starting these forums. Students should take the initiative to suggest these in-class forums. They should also be prepared to ask questions instead of having a couple students monopolize the discussion. This would be a horrible opportunity to waste, considering this may be the most hotly debated election of our time.
No matter what the class is about, there is always a way to connect the curriculum to politics and the issues in this election. We understand that it may be too late to plan an entire class period for this, but even a 10 to 15 minute discussion period would be beneficial to students, according to Moore.
Forums can help participants decide who to vote for and may even sway those who are apathetic to let their voices be heard. With less than a week left before Election Day, it is important to clarify confusing policies and reinforce beliefs. The University has the obligation to teach its students, and this is an opportunity to let them teach each other.
