Temple Senior Pushes for Election Day Resources
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WRITTEN BY: Oliver Sabo
As the midterms approach, one senior is pushing Temple University to help students and members of the community perform their civic duty.
Jared Goldberg, a senior Political Science major, is proposing that the university cancels classes on Election Day and provides services that make it easier for students to get to the polls.
Goldberg is the creator of the Owls Out for Democracy Proposal, as well as a petition that he says has almost 4,000 signatures. The proposal’s first demand is that the university cancels classes on Nov. 8th, “or at a minimum allots a block of time at some point during the day where classes won’t be in session.” He also wants Temple’s buses and shuttles to take students, elderly voters, disabled voters, and those without transportation to the polls on Election Day.
Passionate about politics, Goldberg chooses to spend his time under the Bell Tower, informing everyone he can about his cause. He holds a poster with a QR code to his petition. A full-time student, Goldberg doesn’t have the time to get out and talk to voters like he wants to.
“I’m a canvasser at heart. I knock on doors, I talk to voters, but I work three to four times a week. I have six classes so I can’t talk to voters. So I’ve settled for the fact that if I can get 40,000 people the day off to vote and be involved in our community to help other people vote that have trouble accessing the ballot, that’s a win.”
Goldberg has planned a meeting with Senior Associate Dean of Students Chris Carey and hopes to get a meeting with Temple President Jason Wingard. Goldberg wants to get his proposal to someone who can make a decision.
Carey, in an email to WHIP News, confirmed that he was meeting with Goldberg. Carey does not have the authority to cancel classes, so he will be focused on the other items in the proposal.
“Students should be prepared to vote under the assumption that they willhave class, Carey said. It is very important that people make a plan to vote with the current schedule in place and not assume or hope that classes are going to be cancelled.”
Other elements of the proposal include the university getting in touch with local non-partisan groups, providing students with information about how they can engage in the community and democracy, and a night at the Bell Tower to celebrate “living out our mission statement.”
In his proposal, Goldberg insists that Nov. 8th shouldn’t be a day off, but instead “where we engage ourselves in our democracy and promote the different ways students can service and engage with our community in Philadelphia.”
Every signature matters for Goldberg, who says that if any change is going to be implemented, “it’s about the numbers.”
“Every person that gets another person involved and tells someone else to get involved, that’s helpful. That’s how you build a coalition, that’s how you get people to believe in something. And I think if we settle on a cause, which is something as simple as just giving people the day to vote, it matters.”
Goldberg and Carey’s meeting is set for Friday, Oct. 7th.
