Howard will be closed on Election Day because the school believes in the importance of voting, according to the Office of University Communications. The university wants to ensure the Howard community can travel to their home states to vote if necessary.
All classes will be moved online, and the administrative office will operate remotely on Monday, Nov. 4. The university will also be closed on Tuesday, Nov. 5. All classes will be canceled, and the university will be closed for non-essential workers.
In an email from the Office of University Communications, the university said, “We encourage you to take this time to vote and reflect on the issues that matter most to you and your community. Use the knowledge you’ve gained at Howard to make informed decisions that will impact the future.”
The university believes voting is one of the most powerful tools students have to shape their future, according to the email.
Maiya Barnhardt, a senior advertising major and English minor, will be riding the train home to New Jersey to vote in person. She was unable to get her absentee ballot in time, so she appreciates that the university will be closed.
“It gives me the chance to go home and vote without feeling guilty or missing out on any class,” she said.
Barnhardt expressed the importance of being able to vote in this election specifically. This will be her first time being eligible to vote as an adult, and it is for someone she supports who is also a Black woman who graduated from this university.
A statement released by Lydia Sermons, vice president and chief communications officer, said the Harris-Walz campaign expressed interest in renting university facilities as a venue for their election night watch party.
“However, the university has not received official notification or an official announcement on the site selection,” the statement said. “More information will be available once an official announcement has been made.”
Barnhardt believes the university closure could be good for the safety of the community and can serve as a tool to encourage voting.
“Since [Harris] loves Howard so much, talks about it so much and it’s a public fact that she might be here on election night, I think it’s really good for our safety,” she said.
Barnhardt also used the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol to explain how Trump supporters could react.
“I think it’s a very real possibility that there’s going to be a lot of angry people regardless of which way it goes,” she said.
Other universities in D.C., such as American University and George Washington University, will also be closed for Election Day.
George Washington University says their closure is to “further enable our community’s ability to fully participate in this important democratic moment,” according to an announcement made by President Ellen M. Granberg and Christopher Alan Bracey, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
