December 10, 2007
Colleges Plan Sleepovers for Early Iowa Caucuses
College students camp out for basketball tickets, front-row concert seats, and sometimes protests. But this January, some students at Grinnell College, in Iowa, will sleep on a gym floor in order to caucus for their favorite presidential candidate.
The college, like most institutions in Iowa, will be on break during the Democratic and Republican caucuses, which were moved from January 14 to January 3 about two months ago. They are developing ways to accommodate students even though dorms are scheduled to be closed.
In The Chronicle this week, we are running a story that looks at the student vote in Iowa and what Grinnell and other colleges in the state are doing to help their students be involved in the electoral process.
More than 20,000 out-of-state students attend Iowa universities, and conventional wisdom holds that youth turnout will be lower because the campuses will be closed.
In addition to Grinnell’s decision to open up space at a gym, the University of Northern Iowa is planning to keep open seven of 10 campus dormitories over the break. Residence officials are using empty rooms in those dorms to accommodate any students whose own will be closed.
At the University of Iowa, however, students will be out of luck if they live in one of the eight residence halls that will be closed over the break. Only two will stay open.
Sara Hebel | Posted on Monday December 10, 2007 | Permalink
Previous: School-Reform Expert to Be Obama Adviser
Next: Huckabee's Scientific Views Are Under the Microscope