Dear Teaching Faculty Colleagues:
November 5, 2024, is Election Day. We may not know the final presidential election results for some time, but what they mean for our country will be foremost on everyone’s mind, including our students. Many are predicting legal actions challenging certain aspects of the election relating to voter suppression, ballot tampering and fraud, and some are predicting civil unrest and mass protests regardless of the outcome.
As faculty at a public university, we are public employees and are forbidden from engaging in election campaigning activities while at work. Freedom of expression is an essential part of the work we do as a university. Students, as well as faculty, enjoy certain free speech rights. We are living in a highly polarized and divisive political environment. It is likely that students will have strong views and emotions surrounding the election, regardless of the outcome, and worries about what the election results portend for their future. No doubt, the election aftermath will offer many learning opportunities and as faculty we should be prepared to manage them appropriately and with civility and de-escalate any inappropriate conduct.
In light of the above, your Senate Presidency offers the following thoughts that we hope will be helpful for faculty and graduate teaching assistants to consider as we continue to navigate our way through this challenging year.
Prior to Election Day: Think in advance about how you will handle politically charged discussions in your class, whether your class be on campus, in a Zoom room, in a Canvas discussion forum, or other location. Have a plan.
You may be able to rely on your existing classroom practices and norms. Reminding students in advance of the existing class policies and norms can help to set expectations for civility.
You may find it helpful to ask students to collaborate with you on civility guidelines for use in your course that is specific to discussions of the election and related political issues.
Start a dialogue between your own department colleagues and unit head about how best to support your students and classes.
Review and be aware of non-violent de-escalation best practices for potential incidents or altercations, such as those provided by the Crisis Prevention Institute.
Review the resources about Preparing Your Classroom for the Upcoming Election shared in the Martha Bradley Evans Center for Teaching Excellence newsletter last week.
Election Day and Beyond:
Caring for Students and Reporting Incidents
Recognize that whatever the election outcomes may be, you may encounter individuals who have very strong political views, have been subjected to adverse personal experiences, or have a highly emotional reaction to the election. Remember, that we will have students in our classes whose political leanings run the gamut from ultra-liberal to ultra-conservative. Practice kindness and compassion. Be sensitive to the many reactions students may have: anger, fear, sadness, shock, happiness, pride, or satisfaction. Recognize the emotions in the room and address them.
Give students the chance to speak their minds. You may find it helpful to ask simple, exploratory questions without aggression. Doing so can open up communication and clarify the root of the student’s beliefs so that you know what information you need to convey. Asking for more information may also let students encounter their own biases. Take affirmative steps to help ensure that offensive language is not welcome in a civil classroom dialogue.
Regardless of the outcome of the election, actions that violate the University’s non-discrimination policy or abusive conduct policy are not acceptable, period. The University’s Safe U program makes it clear that bias, discrimination, racism, bigotry, hate or violence have no place on campus. Please do not ignore discriminatory behavior, as silence would suggest that you tacitly approve. Moreover, University Rule 1-012 requires all faculty to report Title IX and other discrimination incidents immediately. Actions involving sexual misconduct, bias, and discrimination should be reported to the University Office of Equal Opportunity . Other student behavioral misconduct should be reported to the Dean of Students Office. The web pages for these offices have online forms for incident reporting. You may obtain additional information concerning the reporting process by calling the Dean of Students Office at (801) 581-7066 or going to https://safeu.utah.edu/how-do-i-report/
Deciding whether to report an incident becomes more difficult if the potentially discriminatory or harassing actions are just speech (words or images only), as students have free speech rights. Those rights are not, however, unlimited, and we recommend that you review the information published early this fall regarding Free Speech and Academic Freedom on Campus.
Of course, in an emergency or acts or threats of violence you should call 911 or Campus Police immediately (801) 585-COPS.
Remind students to balance their needs of being informed and the risks of being over-exposed to social media. Suggest that students limit “doom scrolling” if they are having difficulty coping.
There are many campus resources available to students, such as:
University Counseling Center
Center for Student Wellness
Dean of Students Office
And more, listed on the Student Affairs website
Caring for U of U Employees
Faculty, staff, and other University employees may also experience some strong emotional reactions to the election outcomes. Please take care of your own mental and emotional health and ask for help if you need it. And, be sensitive to the feelings of staff and express your support and willingness to be flexible in these distressing times. There are many campus resources available to both faculty and staff, including many of the resources listed above and you should encourage staff to avail themselves of these resources.
Thank you for all you do for the U of U community.
Harriet Hopf, Senate President
Shanti Deemyad, Past Senate President
Richard Preiss, Senate President-Elect
*This statement was adapted and revised from a similar statement sent during the 2020 election season, authored by 2020 Senate President Randy Dryer, 2020 Senate Past President Julio Facelli, and 2020 Senate President-Elect Christy Porucznik. The original was based on a similar message sent in 2020 by the Academic Senate at Oregon State University distributed to OSU faculty and circulated to the Pac-12 Academic Leadership Coalition.
