Many Penn professors have cancelled their classes this week due to the presidential election, despite University policy not requiring them to do so.
Penn professors told The Daily Pennsylvanian that they have either canceled their classes between Monday and Wednesday or modified their curricula to accommodate Election Day and surrounding political activities — a decision which several students praised. The DP confirmed that some classes were canceled in departments including Communications, Political Science, Cognitive Science, Chemistry, Biology, Psychology, Computer and Informational Science, and Cinema and Media Studies.
1965 College graduate and former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who is currently teaching PSCI 1207: "Who Gets Elected and Why?," canceled the session of his class scheduled to meet Monday evening. In an interview with the DP, Rendell said that he decided to cancel the class due to Vice President Kamala Harris' rally at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the eve of the election.
Rendell emphasized the benefit of his students hearing Harris in person.
“Given it's the topic that our class is all about, I think that the closing argument — closing speech — of a presidential candidate is something [students] should all hear,” he said.
He said that the class will meet for longer next week to compensate for the missed class this week, and that there was “no opposition" from students. Rendell also said that he was in favor of the University canceling classes on Election Day.
He added that he is “very encouraged” by the level of participation he has seen from Penn students with the election on campus, and that students in college should take elections "extremely" seriously.
“Politics is going to play a role in your life no matter what you do. If you're a scientist, it will. If you're an astronaut it will, if you're an athlete it will, if you're a painter it will. Politics affects everything, so everyone should be participating in politics to some degree,” Rendell said.
On the other hand, Portuguese Language Program Director Mércia Flannery told the DP that she has decided not to cancel classes this week.
“I actually have participated in other meetings with fellow faculty members in other departments, and I know that some will not hold class tomorrow, but some will,” she said.
Flannery cited the fact that most of her students are international students as a reason to not cancel class. However, she said she has relaxed her attendance policy on Election Day, so that students who need to miss class can do so.
While she will continue to hold class, Flannery is incorporating the election into her course curriculum.
“I asked my students how they felt about the possibility of having a brief discussion about the results of the election the day after class, since we do have class the day after, and my students said that they would be open to do that, which I thought was really interesting,” she said.
She said she designed an activity to do in class the day after Election Day, in which students will find a news article in Portuguese, then summarize it, talk about it with the class, and exchange ideas with their classmates.
Students — including College first year Ari Boli — expressed support for their professors who decided to cancel class.
“I think all professors should cancel class," Boli said. "I think this should be a civic holiday."
College first year Yoni Lanfir, whose professor canceled a class on Wednesday, similarly praised the decision "for everyone's mental health."
Several other schools in Philadelphia have taken measures to close during election week. Drexel University will close on Nov. 5 to allow students to "cast a ballot and partake in community engagement events."
While Penn prohibits exams to be administered on Election Day, there is no explicit policy surrounding the ceasing of University operations on Election Day or the days surrounding it. In 2016, following former President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump's electoral victory, many Penn professors canceled classes.
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