college teachers: what can we do to encourage students to vote?

[NJCher]

I sent this to my students by e-mail:

If you are not registered and you would like to vote in the upcoming presidential election, I am attaching a .pdf of the registration form you can fill out and mail in. You must have the document in by October 4, however, to the county in which you live. Here is a link to the addresses of the county election commissioner offices:

http://www.state.nj.us/lps/elections/loc_officials_doe.html

You may also wish to request an absentee ballot if you are not traveling to your county on November 4.

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In class I will discuss the debt that is being accumulated by the current spending policies and explain that voting is their best tactic for protecting the interests of their generation.


Cher

[Sabriel]

1. Have the New Voters Project in to speak

They came to all of my education classes and were quite good at gearing their points to future teachers. In fact, the local director is himself an ex-teacher...who lost his job last year because of budget cuts. He's an eloquent example of why teachers need to be informed voters.

[donco6]

2. Don't let those RWers get cha

Here in Colorado we have a state law that prohibits "biased" speech by college professors. (I know, I know, we're halfway to the concentration camps already).

[ropi]

3. you have got to be

kidding me?!

[donco6]

4. I wish I were

This article is very one-sided, of course, but gives you the idea.


http://washtimes.com/national/20040909-110959-3265r.htm

[ropi]

5. !!!!

:wow:


that article...what a piece of work! it's so typical of the crap i'd see when i was a graduate student. we used to have this imp who'd come onto our graduate student message boards and bemoan the fact that he felt that he could not be heard in class because of his conservative viewpoints. so, in order to make himself heard, he'd come to the boards and sound off, incite fighting, etc. finally, he became bored when everyone put him on ignore.


i'd frame every discussion with an explanation of the post-modern... maybe that could 'save your skin' you know...something like... in the post-modern..since all things are 'propaganda' ...blah blah blah...

[donco6]

7. That's exactly what's happening

Meranto has got one student in particular who's really P.O.d at her, I believe his name is Culpepper, who has made it his life's goal to get her fired. Now he's getting his RW friends to take her course and rat her out if she makes a misstep.

http://www.mscd.edu/~themet/TheMetropolitan/04_05/Vol27_issue06/n3.html

He's a real piece of work.

[ropi]

8. i'd say he is...

You would think that after having read the syllabus, which may state that some viewpoints may make the student uncomfortable, that the student would at least see that he or she was warned. it never ceases to amaze me that the 'conservative student' is the first to complain about 'special rights' and victimization--but challenge him to think and he screams for special rights and moans that he has been victimized!

Ok... grrr... i am glad this is NOT my classroom.

[bobbieinok]

6. WHEN IS THE ELECTION??????? Nov 4?????

[NJCher]

9. being careful about that

Even though I heard a figure that something like 75 per cent of students in NJ are for Kerry.

I do think the spending is an outrage. As a country, we are no better than a parent who takes out a credit card in a child's name and runs up a balance of 80k before the kid is even walking. You hear about cases like that from time to time and deplore them. But is what we're doing as a society--sticking these kids with horrendous debt and no jobs when they get out of school--any better?

I think that should have been October 2 to mail in the registration form. I'll correct it in class. Thanks.


Cher

[wildeyed]

10. Students can register at college if they have lived there for 30 prior

to the election. I always try to register folks where they live when the election is going to happen, more likely they will actually vote. Applying for an absentee ballot can be somewhat time consuming, at least for your average college student.

Nov 2 is election day, not Nov 4, just FYI.