UNC holds regular classes on Election Day, students and activists discuss calendar

As students and community members voted at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History on Tuesday, UNC continued to hold classes in the building and across campus.

Election Day, which always falls on a Tuesday, is not a national holiday. Neighboring states acknowledge the day, including Virginia, which recognizes it as a state holiday, and South Carolina, where it is legally required to close all state-supported colleges and universities on election days.

Though UNC did not allocate Tuesday as a day off, some UNC professors still decided to cancel classes, while others kept their regularly-scheduled meetings.

“I would just say, in my personal capacity, that the University should be doing more to promote students as civic leaders,” Sam Hiner, a UNC senior and executive director of the student advocacy nonprofit Young People's Alliance, said.

In 2022, Hiner and other students organized a petition and rally in support of establishing a Democracy Day during early voting. Their proposed plan would move one of two Well-Being Days in the fall to align with early voting, allowing time for community members to cast their ballot and attend non-mandatory programming.

Hiner said he worked with the Registrar's Office two years ago to propose a version of the academic calendar with this change to former Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and current Provost Chris Clemens. He said the former chancellor and provost did not accept the calendar and never provided a reason.

“Creating the academic calendar is a complex process with many considerations and the Academic Calendar Committee determined a stand-alone holiday would not be designated this year on [Election Day],” Media Relations wrote in an email statement to The Daily Tar Heel. “The committee is always happy to hear input from students and student groups and consider various options for future years.”

Hiner said that although YPA has continued its voter advocacy efforts, the organization now also focuses on mental health and technology.

“The funny thing I found is that for an equivalent amount of work, I could get state level legislation introduced and get the majority of state representatives to co-sponsor it,” he said. “Meanwhile, you know, [I] couldn't even move a needle at my own university.”

YPA hosted its first Democracy Day on Oct. 30, which included free food, performances and walks from outside Morehead Planetarium to the closest early voting site to campus, the Chapel of the Cross.

“I think in an ideal world, if UNC were to have the day off on Election Day, doing a large-scale version of this event would even just amplify the vision that we have for it,” Hannah Elder, a sophomore and UNC YPA campus field director, said.

Elder said finding time to go to a polling site in between classes can be challenging for students and impact voter turnout. 

Media Relations wrote in their statement that campuswide messages with voting resources were sent out on Sept. 24 and Oct. 17 to ensure eligible voters could vote in-person, early or by absentee ballot.

This year, the first day of early voting aligned with the first day of fall break.

“We understand that many students would like election day to be an academic holiday, however it is not a national holiday. We encourage all our students, faculty and staff to exercise their right to vote,” Media Relations wrote.

Marina Castro-Meirelles is the founder of Day on Democracy, an organization advocating for colleges to replace classes on all election days with campuswide civic and education engagement activities. While some said to her that students just wanted a day off, she said it's actually a day on the polls, on community and on democracy.

“Those first few civic experiences that you have at the voting booth are really critical to setting you up for a lifetime of civic engagement,” Castro-Meirelles said. “And it just so happens that those first votes happen while they're in college for most people.”

According to Day on Democracy, 86 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the U.S. — or 2.2 percent — canceled classes this Election Day.

 Castro-Meirelles said public universities appear to be slightly more constrained than private universities since there may be concern over potential backlash in state funding, especially if the decision can be framed as politically motivated.

She said she thinks it helps when administrators at public institutions can point to student activism and show that students are consistently asking for the change. 

“We have to want our democracy to stick around, and I think that a feeling of celebration and of excitement around it — that we have something worth celebrating — I think that's a key thing that Election Day can be used for,” Castro-Meirelles said.

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