It all started with a Tweet.
Tamir Harper, a junior at American University (AU) was sitting and thinking about voting recently and how it ought to be accessible to all, particularly during the height of a global pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans.
Concerned that AU had not cancelled classes, Harper sent the Tweet that “got more traction than I expected,” he said.
Shortly thereafter, another student started a petition that was followed by an email campaign, and before Harper knew it, AU had announced that it was going to cancel classes and pause services on campus this Nov 3, to allow students, faculty and staff the opportunity to vote in what Harper calls “the most important election of his life time.”
“We pride ourselves on being one of the most politically active schools, so how are we not ensuring that students are able to vote or volunteer at the polls?” wondered Harper, 20, a native of Philadelphia, who was thrilled when senior administrators handed down their decision.
“Our democracy is on the line,” he said. “This election is too important for us to jeopardize anyone’s ability not to vote.”
Come next month, Harper — a junior — will cast his ballot for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. But getting his college administration to cancel classes so that students wouldn’t have to stand in long line for hours and potentially miss an online course, wasn’t about partisan politics.
