University Senate pushes for no classes, quizzes if next Election Day doesn’t include campus voting

Plus, county health board president tells commissioners applicants sparse for county health officer under part-time status. Pilot Sully Sullenberger set for Purdue Presidential Lecture Series

• Sponsorship help for this edition comes from Purdue Musical Organizations. The 91st Annual Purdue Christmas Show is the must-see event of the year! Gather your family and friends, and create lasting memories as you sing along to your favorite songs and marvel at the extraordinary Purdue student talent on display. Get tickets here.

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UNIVERSITY SENATE VOTE: NO CLASSES, QUIZZES IF NEXT ELECTION DAY DOESN’T INCLUDE CAMPUS VOTE CENTERS

In an election season that provided plenty of angst over available polling place on and near campus, the University Senate, a faculty-led body at Purdue, suggested that the university do more next time to get on-campus vote centers on Election Day lined up with the Tippecanoe County Election Board.

Short of that, a University Senate resolution approved Monday said, the university should either cancel classes or professors should decline to give quizzes or exams on Election Day so students have time to navigate Election Day lines and vote.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

The vote came on the same day that Purdue officials wrote a letter to students, faculty and staff saying the university was “committed to offering West Lafayette campus facilities as voting site choices for all future election cycles.”

“Why are your youngest citizens the least likely to vote, even though they arguably have the greatest stake in our national elections,” Susan South, University Senate chair, said during Monday’s meeting.

“Political researchers have offered different hypotheses for the phenomenon, and they often point to voter apathy and distrust in politics and our electoral system,” South said. “Can we, as a college community dedicated to education, decrease that apathy by demonstrating the importance of voting and giving our students the tools to participate fully in our democracy?”

The resolution passed with 81% of the vote.

Purdue and county elections officials were criticized after the Tippecanoe County Election Board initially voted Aug. 18 for a vote center schedule that had no early polling place or Election Day vote center on campus. Blamed largely on technical issues, the decision broke from a history of having campus polling places in presidential election years dating to the start of vote center use in 2007.

On Sept. 27, less than two weeks before the start of early voting, the Election Board voted to add a day of early voting at the Purdue Co-Rec – 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24. It did not add an Election Day site.

The Election Board pointed out another early voting site – on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at First United Methodist Church west of campus on Mitch Daniels Boulevard – was set up to accommodate students living in residence halls on that side of campus. And Election Day sites include a vote center at West Lafayette City Hall, in the Village area three blocks east the Purdue Memorial Union.

Accusations of voter suppression still lingered.

The University Senate resolution pointed out: “In 2021, the Purdue University Board of Trustees adopted a civics literacy requirement for all undergraduate students, with the aim of preparing a more knowledgeable and engaged citizenry. The most important aspect of citizenry is the casting of a ballot.”

“In the past, Purdue has the administration has done a much better job of providing these facilities,” Lori Hoagland, a professor of soil microbial ecology and a University Senate member, said. However, in this election cycle, it has fallen far short of meeting these goals.”

Monday morning, Purdue officials sent a letter to the campus community saying that “we measured the walking time between the center of campus and the West Lafayette City Hall voting center next to campus: a two-minute-longer walk than to the Co-Rec.”

The letter said Purdue Student Life would offer golf cart rides to City Hall for students who need mobility assistance on Election Day. Students also have access to free CityBus routes to vote centers in West Lafayette and Lafayette.

EARLY VOTING UPDATE: As of Monday, 8,343 people had voted in person at early polling places since polls opened Oct. 8, according to the Tippecanoe County elections office. That includes 1,074 voters Monday at the Tippecanoe County Office Building. At the first satellite voting site of the season, the McAllister Center in Lafayette’s north end, 562 people cast ballots Saturday, according to the elections office.

Early voting this week ahead of the Nov. 5 general election features two sites designed to be close to Purdue, including one at the Co-Rec, designated after uproar from students and voting advocates about limited access on campus.

• Tuesday, Oct. 22: noon-5 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 1700 Mitch Daniels Boulevard, West Lafayette

• Thursday, Oct. 24: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Purdue Co-Rec, 355 N. Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette.

Also in play, early voting sites are open:

Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette

Saturday, Oct. 26:

• 9 a.m.-1 p.m., West Point Fire Station, 4949 Indiana 25 S., West Point

• 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Otterbein United Methodist Church, 405 Oxford St., Otterbein

• 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Clarks Hill Christian Church, 9510 Pearl St., Clarks Hill

• 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette;

For more about finding what races are on your ballot, candidate Q&As and a complete list of where to vote on or before Nov. 5, check this voter guide.

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HEALTH BOARD PRESIDENT: APPLICANTS SPARSE FOR HEALTH OFFICER UNDER PART-TIME STATUS

A proposal to hire the next Tippecanoe County health officer, remaining as a part-time position, hasn’t generated much interest from qualified applicants, the county board of health president told county commissioners Monday morning.

Dr. Julianne Stout, president of the health board, said the county was running out of time to find a health officer by the end of the year, when Dr. Greg Loomis – who announced his resignation in July in a dispute with commissioners over the scope of the job – plans to step away from a position for good.