Talking about elections in a college classroom – and why professors can be reluctant to bring it up
By Tyler Story, Senior Editor and Sarah Sternhagen, Editor-in-Chief
In an election year when the presidency, Senate, House of Representatives and more positions in individual states are up for election there has been a relative quiet in classrooms across TU’s campus on the subject. A large part of whether politics gets brought up in a classroom comes down to the person leading the discussion–the professor.
“Some faculty may feel like they don’t want to get in the middle of a two-sided dynamic,” Joseph Dietrich of the Political Science Department said. Dietrich teaches POSC103: American National Government, a foundation requirement in the Political Science major.
In a major that’s all about politics and policy, people walk into those classes expecting to talk about politics.
“We talk about elections in our department every single day,” Dietrich said.
But not all classes–or even departments–have space set aside for election discussions.
“It’s bothered me that I’ve not brought it up,” John Kirch said, who’s a professor in the Mass Communications Department at Towson, “I am struggling with my role in this whole election and as a professor.”
For professors, it can be hard to gauge if students want to talk about the election in class. And if it’s worth carving time out of an already set syllabus to have that discussion.
Kirch currently teaches two MCOM101: Intro to Mass Communication sections. In both sections last week, he asked his class if they needed to set aside time to talk about the election. In one class, they spent the entire time discussing the election. In his other, they spent less than ten minutes on the subject.
“And so I asked, you know what, why is that? What’s making you reluctant to speak? And they had some legitimate reasons.”
Some students cited fear of being ridiculed for their opinions. Others said they talked about the election everywhere else and that they were burned out from the subject. One student mentioned they were worried about getting worked up over the issues.
“In class, I try to talk about topics that are pertinent to the election without getting into political opinions,” Landon said. “Interestingly, when I do provide opportunities for in-class discourse, students seem wary of engaging.”
For a large portion of TU’s student population, this will be the first election they vote in, and it’s not a typical one.
“This is an extremely polarizing election,” Katherine Landon said, a lecturer in the Department of Secondary and Middle School Education.
The political discourse from campaigns has greatly increased across media with the approach of the general elections. NBC News reports that the amount of money spent on political ads since the start of 2023 is over $10 billion.
Towson does have Policies and Guidelines Related to U.S. Elections, but it mainly focuses on how TU employees should make it clear any political opinions they express are their own and not reflective of the university as a whole. There aren’t guidelines about incorporating the subject into the classroom.
The Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility is TU’s main driver on non-curricular election engagement, primarily through non-partisan educational events and voter registration efforts.
Director of the Civic Engagement Office Romy Hubler said some classes had requested her team to come and give a presentation on the voting process.
“Lots of co-curricular groups or student groups,” Hubler said.
It’s clear there are many factors at play when professors choose to explore current events in their classrooms, elections being no exception.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, read The Towerlight’s voting guide here.