By: The Commentator Editorial Board  | 

A Time to Vote (Vol. 58, Issue 3)

On Election Day, November 3, 1992, many of you, as conscientious students, will find yourselves called upon to be both good citizens and good students. Unfortunately, some of you (local residents who can not vote by absentee ballot) will find it difficult to be both. The Administrators of Yeshiva College have elected not to afford any time off for registered voters to exercise their constitutional privilege.

As concerned and informed voters, you will want to marshall support for your prospective choices. You will want to know the records each candidate has on such issues as the Arab boycott, the settlement of Yehuda and Shomron, the immigration of Jews to Israel, and the separation of Church and State. You will also want ‘to be able’ to execute your decision on Election Day, but you will not be given any time off from your scheduled classes on November 3, 1992.

As a concerned and informed voter, you must now decide to skip your classes on Election Day and go down to vote.

Concerned and informed Administrators -- fellow voters under the Constitution of The United States of America -- should allow a three hour break in classes on Election day. The current oversight in the academic calendar effectively limits us from exercising our rights. Further, as fellow Jews, the Administrators of Yeshiva ought to realize the premium placed upon every vote cast in favor of the candidate who would best support the interests of the Jewish world. In this situation, the time constraints demanded of the typical YU student are almost as restrictive as the poll taxes of old.

Surely, Yeshiva ought to allow and, indeed, actively encourage all of us to vote on Election Day 1992 by furnishing three hours for democracy.