Faculty members at universities across the nation are awarding credit in their classes to students who vote. At Northwestern, however, professors appeal more to students’ sense of civic duty than their grade point averages.
At Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pa., sociology Lecturer Vanitha Dayananda offers extra credit to students in her class who show proof of having voted.
“I have noticed over the years, that American students are less interested in politics, unlike European (students) or students in India,” Dayananda wrote in an e-mail. “So, I have been giving an incentive to vote by giving them extra credit because of their apathy. I also want them to appreciate and realize the privileges of a democratic society.”
Although she has not made voting a requirement for the class, Dayananda said her students are responding to the offer.
“My students seem to be enthusiastic, as my offering them extra credit would help them become involved in the election process and also in improving their grades,” she wrote.
At Drew University, in Madison, N.J., American literature Prof. Merrill Skaggs made the headlines of The New York Times for her tactics to get students involved in the political process.
She sent an e-mail to faculty members at the university, telling them about her plans to make voting in the Nov. 2 election mandatory for her class. Skaggs encouraged other faculty members to do the same.
“I cannot think of a more urgent time for student votes than this election,” said Skaggs. “If students do (make a change) through their voting power, people will notice. Seize your power,” she said.
Despite the trend, NU professors have yet to make similar announcements.
“I actually considered doing exactly that in 1996 but, in the end, didn’t,” said Lane Fenrich, an NU senior history lecturer and assistant dean for freshmen in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
“I have no problem using my bully pulpit to encourage voting,” he said. “But giving students credit for doing so looks an awful lot like bribing them to do something they should actually want to do.”
NU students said they have ambivalent feelings towards the prospect of a some credit being given for voting.
“I don’t think you will see this here,” said Andrew Proksel, a Weinberg junior and president of College Democrats.
Proksel noted that the number of students who showed interest in College Democrats at the Activities Fair on Sept. 24 was “bigger than it has been in the past.”
Last spring’s “No War” campaign, a reaction to the war in Iraq, is an example of students rallying for a political cause, Proksel said.
“When things start heating up, (students) will choose it,” he said. “If they want to be politically active, they will be. NU students are already pretty active.”
Ben Snyder, vice-president of College Republicans, said that although offering credit may motivate students to be less apathetic, it may be the wrong approach.
The low participation of voters between the ages of 18 and 24 is “certainly one of the problems in America, and any effort to fix that problem is a noble one,” said Snyder, a Weinberg senior.
“Whether it is a regular (assignment) or extra credit, having students go to a voting booth because of a class is misguided,” Snyder added. “They should want to vote.”
Voting should “give people a sense of pride in their country,” he said, but offering academic incentives for students or mandating voting is the wrong way to go.
“Democracy is not well-served that way,” Snyder said.
Reach Marcy Miranda at [email protected].
