This week, the NCAA Division I Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) decided to advance the legislative proposal which prevents student-athletes from participating in ‘countable athletic related activities’ (CARA) on the first Tuesday after November 1rst. The committee first recommended the proposal in late July, but their recent decision to advance it to NCAA Division I Council for a vote came after SAAC heard feedback from the Division I Legislative Committee, Student-Athlete Experience Committee, and the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversights.
DI SAAC advances civic engagement proposal that includes Election Day off, will be voted on in September: https://t.co/HtvrsLcEX3 pic.twitter.com/hiUmeDlpxA
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) August 19, 2020
The legislative proposal would ensure that student-athletes have time to participate on Election Day, thereby supporting some of Division I SAAC’s priorities for the 2020-2021 academic year:
- Increasing the student-athlete voice in legislative issues
- Increasing diversity through civic engagement
During Division I SAAC’s virtual meeting on Tuesday, they clarified that the prohibition of CARA in early November would reoccur annually (not only during election years) in order to encourage annual civic engagement. The Division I SAAC also committed to providing student-athletes with educational tools prior to Election Day that can be utilized for this year’s election and future forms of civic engagement.
Ethan Good, the DI SAAC chair and representative from the Mid-American Conference, said, “We are extremely excited to put this proposal together for the Council to vote on. Not only are we passionate about the positive impact this would have on student-athletes, but we are also excited because it is the first substantive legislative proposal the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has proposed since Division I governance was restructured in 2014 to give student-athletes a vote at every level of decision-making. This is a huge step in a long journey of continuing to strengthen the voice and influence of student-athletes.”
On September 16th, the Division I Council will officially vote on the proposal. If approved, the legislation will be in effect in time for this years’ Election Day, although competitions scheduled prior to the vote may still be held on Election Day.
1984
You uhhhh…you uhhh…you ever actually read that book? Or do you just pop up on online forums and say “1984” whenever something happens that you don’t like?
This reminds me of the “Donald Trump’s America is like the Nazi regime” stuff on social media.
No it’s not. Donald Trump’s America doesn’t really resemble the rise of the Nazis at all, not to anybody with any historical education. It much more closely resembles the rise of fascist Eastern European dictatorships than the rise of the Nazi regime.
Funny say that… wasn’t it Trump who was comparing US intelligence leaks to Nazi Germany?
https://youtu.be/ZsZG-u2BzOU
not very bright minds there. Most student-athletes are not in their home town and therefore giving them a day off to vote in person will not be very effective.
College students are legally allowed to vote either in their home town or in the place where they’re attending college, but not both.
For everyone who is against this, I suppose I ask “what is the downside?” If the students want it, and the NCAA is okay with it, why shouldn’t it be done? What do we lose from giving student-athletes one day off every two years?
No one needs a day off to vote
They have lots of down time
Voting takes 5 minutes
There are elections of one kind or another several times a year. Where does it stop?
Ok, so “nobody needs a day off to vote” is a neutral position. That should support an argument for the position of “I don’t care if you get a day off to vote.” If you’re their employer, it’s maybe even a “con” position.
But, again, I ask, for these student-athletes, what is the “con” position to them getting a day off to vote?
A day off from swimming – fine
From school- no way. Academics get shortchanged routinely, we don’t need more empty classes to vote for 10 min
I’m good with that. I don’t think the NCAA has the authority to give student-athletes the day off of classes anyway.
It stops with Election Day. It seems like there are very clear parameters with this, they get 1 day off every 2 years to vote in federal elections. I don’t understand why incentivizing participating in democracy is a bad thing.
This is stupid.
So they can all go vote in person at the polls!