Wednesday, September 30, 2020
A college students guide to By Chloe Morrissey
voting
With the Presidential Election 34 days away, less than half of 18 to 24 year olds are registered to vote, according to the United States Census Bureau. Oklahoma State’s library provides election and voting resources on it’s website. The website provides links to important voting dates, the ACLU’s voting rights guide and the
Ok Voter Portal. In-State Voters Students, who live in Oklahoma when not attending OSU, can register to vote using the Ok Voter Portal. The last day to register to vote is Oct. 9. Students can vote via mail-in ballot, absentee ballot or in person. Voters can request an absentee ballot, find voting site locations, and verify voter information from this website. In order to register, students
Most college students can vote, whether they’re in-state or out of state.
need to provide an Oklahoma driver’s license or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Oklahoma is also allowing a no-excuse absentee ballot due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The last day to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 27 and the ballot must be received by the county election office by 7 p.m on Nov. 3. Voting sites will be
open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day and social distancing will be enforced. At each voting site, voting booths will be placed six feet apart, social distancing guides will be marked with tape, and voting surfaces will be wiped down frequently. Out of State Voters Students, who live outside of Oklahoma when not attending OSU, can register to vote using their college campus address or their permanent home address. Students can also submit absentee ballots if still registered using their home state address and are attending school out of state. If this is not feasible, students can change their existing voter registration to the state they are currently attending college in, but can not be registered in two states at once. Each state’s absentee ballot rules are different, but students can visit nass.org to find their states’ mail in ballot rules.
File photo
Petition for Pass/No Pass Grading Christopher Sneed A senior strategic communications major is exploring the possibility of a second “Pass/ No-Pass” option for the Fall 2020 semester. Lacey Hickey, 21, has created an online petition to help struggling students, which received more than 3,000 signatures as of Tuesday. She said she noticed The University of Oklahoma had a similar petition circulating on campus and
felt it was worth considering for OSU. According to an email document, Hickey sent the petition to the office of Provost Gary Sanderfur on Sept. 23. The next day, she received a reply email saying that it would be reviewed. She said that was her last communication. “This semester has proven to be so much more difficult,” Hickey said. “We’ve been basically expected to return to normal in what couldn’t be farther from a normal situation.” Hickey said students made it through most of the previous semester before COVID-19 became a concern. Students on campus this semester are adjusting to smaller class sizes, in-person classes being moved
online and problems with technology. The petition, created through Change.org, reads “The variability in knowledge of technology among different professors only further implicates an inconsistent learning platform.” She said that the problems range from things not being posted to professors not recording lectures. The pandemic also creates problems for some students who are not comfortable or able to attend classes in person, such as Hickey who said she had compromised immunity. OSU students received criticism earlier this semester when video was released of many ignoring the COVID-19
guidelines while packed into a local bar. Now, they are receiving negative comments for the petition posted on Twitter on Sept 23. One user questioned whether the students asking for this option had paid for their own education. Another user said they assumed “they are failing.” “Yeah let not do shit and still get a degree. What a lazy generation,” said Twitter user B Johnson. Hickey, who said she had a 4.0 GPA last semester, said she feels most of the backlash is coming from alumni or older generations. “I hate to break it to them but we all get the same piece of paper in the end,” she said.