By Staff

Dear Kenyon Students:

The undersigned professors encourage you to vote in the upcoming special election on May 7. The election has no candidates, only local issues, including the emergency tax levy to support the Mount Vernon City School District (which includes Wiggin Street Elementary School.) As Kenyon students, you have both the legal and moral standing to vote in local elections. You live in this community for most of the year, for four years. You volunteer at the schools, the hospital, the fire department and other institutions. Your tuition and room and board fees support much of the Gambier and Mount Vernon economy. You spend dollars at local businesses and pay local sales taxes. You are stakeholders in local issues.

The issues related to the school levy ballot are very clear. They are not partisan or ideological. Devastating cuts to academic and extracurricular programs will be enacted if this levy fails, including the cancellation of all extracurricular sports, music and clubs. Because many people choose where they live and work based on the quality of the local schools, cuts of this magnitude would influence the entire community, including Kenyon students. Volunteer opportunities may become more limited if the community declines. Businesses may close or shorten hours. And, most directly, Kenyon College will find it more difficult to recruit and retain the very best faculty members and other employees. The quality of your Kenyon education, the culture of the Kenyon campus and the value of your Kenyon degree are closely connected to the quality of the local schools.

Please go to the polls on May 7.

Joseph Adler

Noah Aydin

Read Baldwin

Fred Baumann

Chris Bickford

Julie Brodie

Ted Buehrer

Pamela Camerra-Rowe

Katie Corker

Mary Jane Cowles

Balinda Craig-Quijada

Scott Cummings

Paul Curran

Melissa Dabakis

Miriam Dean-Otting

Juan DePascuale

Ruth Dunnell

Eugene Dwyer

Kathryn Edwards

Claudia Esslinger

Shawn Farnell

Kathleen Fernando

Laurie Finke

Simon Garcia

Paul Gebhardt

Yutan Getzler

Tom Giblin

Kathy Gillen

Chris Gillen

PJ Glandon

Scott Gosnell

Mort Guiney

Barry Gunderson

Marcella Hackbardt

Carolin Hahnemann

Bruce Hardy

Daniel Hartnett

Tom Hawks

Katherine Heden

Karen Hicks

Craig Hill

John Hofferberth

Eric Holdener

Judy Holdener

Harry Itagaki

Jennifer L. Johnson

Jamie Keller

Drew Kerkhoff

Nurten Kilic-Schubel1234

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