JMU and the election

Dear JMU,

This Tuesday is an important national and local election and we hope that all of you have either already voted or have plans to vote that day. The importance of young voters cannot be overstated and we believe that it is not just a right, but a responsibility, to vote in all of our elections. We encourage you to take on that responsibility, whether it be on campus at the Convocation Center, or your designated polling place off campus. You can find details on where to vote locally here.

We realize that there is a great deal of anxiety and stress wrapped up in this election and our first priority is the safety of everyone at JMU. As President Alger said in his recent election message, “we have a responsibility to ensure that individuals of all backgrounds and perspectives feel welcome and can participate actively in the vigorous civil discourse that marks an institution of higher learning.” We hope that by respecting and caring about the safety of others, JMU’s culture of community will shine through.

If you choose to express yourself on campus please do so safely and within established university policies. If you want to chalk on campus there are several areas where this is permitted and anything placed outside of these areas will be removed. Here is more information about chalking on campus. If you choose to gather, please do so peacefully and respectfully, and remember that we are all members of this JMU community.

Additionally, The Madison Center for Civic Engagement offers lots of resources to our campus community to help you process what is happening during this election season. Everything from Facilitating Difficult Election Conversations to Post Election Programming are there to help you sort out what is happening before and on election day, as well as after election day whether or not the results are immediately known.

We would also ask that you respect each other as we all experience this election together. We believe that JMU can be an example to other communities in how we face this election. It is up to us to come together rather than allowing ourselves to be divided. Take care of yourselves, be safe, and Go Dukes.

Norman Jones III
Student Representative to the Board of Visitors

Dela Adedze
President of the Student Government Association

Dr. Tim Miller
Vice President for Student Affairs