CAU dedicates a day to civic activity
By: Arika Lawrence
Issue date: 11/5/08 Section: News
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After numerous discussions with faculty and student leaders about this year's election, many started to wonder if CAU would be open during Election Day.
Dr. Carlton Brown, president of CAU said, "The story is not that we are closed but we have declared (Nov. 4) a 'day of civic engagement.' We will be fully functioning as a business but classes are
cancelled. "
Originally, Dr. Brown said that CAU would not be closed during Election Day but because this year is anticipating record high voter turnout he retracted his initial decision.
"We [understand] that many of our students are new voters and we know new voters maybe presented with challenges to vote. We want to afford students the opportunity to vote without opposition."
Dr. Brown said that back in August, students were encouraged in carrying out their civil commitments and students were responsive in wanting to participate in these efforts.
As a result, some students have organized various civic engagement activities to get the campus more involved this political season.
Miss CAU, Aisha Cole said she is so excited about the upcoming elections, "This is a monumental aspect for us as African-Americans, and even more so for myself as an African-American woman.
Americans are finally coming together. This is a historic election, we have an African-American running for president."
She added, "We need to have more civic engagements in our community and on our campus, and stay abreast of situations occurring in our country."
One of the highlights of this political season was the Atlanta University Center (AUC) rally where students marched from Robert Woodruff Library to Pryor Street to urge the community to participate in early voting.
