Students to vote on ‘Day Off for Democracy’ referendum

MUSG will gauge MU community on Election Day holiday

By Sophia Tiedge sophia.tiedge@marquette.edu

In addition to voting on Marquette University Student Government leadership positions this week, students can also vote on a resolution to suspend classes on election days.

“Day Off for Democracy” is a resolution authored by Robert Miller, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Nicole Laudolff, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. It’s a suggestion to the university to cancel classes for the presidential, midterm, statewide and local elections.

Marquette’s chapter of

Young Americans for Freedom, NAACP and Marquette College Democrats endorsed the legislation.

Laudolff said that Marquette students should not have to make the decision to be a good student for the day or be a good citizen.

“Most of the arguments point towards the fact that a lot of students have very busy schedules, whether they juggle not only classes but internships or jobs. Some of them are commuters, so getting to campus and back home can be inconvenient,” Laudolff said.

The bill passed unanimously through the student senate and will now become a referendum. A student referendum is a public question that would gauge student support on whether or not “Day off for

Results from the referendum could be used for a proposal or recommendation to the university administration.

“MUSG doesn’t have any jurisdiction over the academic calendar, so the best we can do is issue recommendations. And this way, all students have the opportunity to make their voices