The importance of Election Day and beyond
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Dear Furman Community,
Tuesday night, we should know the outcome of many local, state and national elections, including the one that determines who our nation’s president will be for the next four years. There is also speculation that the outcome of many races, including the highest, might be uncertain before next Wednesday, creating just one more variable in a highly unusual year.
In a letter to the campus yesterday, our friends and colleagues of the Election Working Group, led by Chaplain Vaughn CroweTipton and Professor Danielle Vinson, reminded us that we are a community. They urged us to be civil, to embrace justice, and to engage in differences as a means to learn.
I would like to repeat a request the committee made, that we resolve to be courageous in our responsibilities – to ourselves, to each other and to our communities.
Regardless of election outcomes, and even if the outcomes are uncertain for a time, when we wake up Wednesday morning, we will still be the Furman community, and we will honor and celebrate our multitudinous diversity with just as much reverence as we do today.
Just as importantly, each of us will also still be members of larger communities – locally, across the state, the nation, and the world. We are also members of communities where we work, where we worship, and where we spend our free time. We must carry into these larger communities the same regard for others that we have for each other at Furman.
If, after the election, you feel the need to demonstrate your passion, whether in personal interactions or as groups, we encourage you to do so in a respectful, civil manner. Unlawful activity, by anyone or any group, will not be tolerated.
If you need to talk with someone, please take advantage of the opportunities and recommendations of the working group, or reach out to the Counseling Center, the Office of Spiritual Life, or Human Resources.
Above all, I hope that you will vote or have already done so. It is said that your vote is your voice. Just as each vote is important for the continuance of our democratic society, each voice is important to Furman University.
Warmly,
Elizabeth Davis
President