ASUI proposed Election Day holiday
An ASUI bill to make Election Day a University of Idaho holiday was discussed in the Sept. 22 Faculty Senate meeting. If Election Day becomes a campus holiday, UI may need to add an extra instructional day to the fall semester, according to UI Registrar Lindsey Brown.
The fall semester is currently at the minimum number of instructional days following both university and state level policy. If an instructional day is taken away for the new holiday, then an instructional day will need to be added to the calendar, Brown said.
This holiday was proposed so “students will feel their vote truly matters,” ASUI Academic Affairs Officer Savannah Stroebel said.
“We think that students are more apt to wanting to go vote in person,” Stroebel said.
However, Stroebel said ASUI believes long lines, short breaks between classes and confusion over absentee voting may discourage students from voting. Taking the day off from classes is one method ASUI has proposed to encourage civic engagement.
The Faculty Senate gave ASUI suggestions for changes on the bill and appraised its intentions. The holiday proposal will return to ASUI meetings for further discussion.
Hiroshima artifacts now available for viewing at UI Library
In the early 1950s, UI donated money and a book to the University of Hiroshima (UH) as it recovered from the effects of U.S. nuclear bombs.
Recently, UI received a gift from UH of several roof tiles from a building destroyed in the atomic blast, manga, or Japanese graphic novels, about the nuclear bomb and old correspondence between UH and UI.
The artifacts are currently available for viewing at the UI Library.
Borah Symposium announcements
The speakers at the 2020 Borah Symposium will be Nobel Prize Recipient Beatrice Fihn and Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell. The links to the symposium, as well as more information, can be found on the UI website.
Faculty clarifies roles in the recruitment process
The senate held a round table-style discussion about the role of faculty members in recruiting prospective students.
Policy removed from the Faculty Staff Handbook
FSH 6925 was removed for being mostly descriptive and procedural in a collection of policies.
Faculty Senate meets 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays over Zoom. Meeting agendas and minutes are available on the Faculty Senate website.
Cody Roberts can be reached at arg-[email protected].