Students used a recent day off to participate in local elections on Town Meeting Day.

Classes were canceled March 1 for Town Meeting Day because of an amendment to the academic schedule.

The change was proposed last year by Thomas Chittenden, co-chair of the student affairs subcommittee of the faculty senate, by request of the SGA.

“We really wanted spring break to be a week later to better align with other universities and we wanted Town Meeting Day off to give students a chance to participate in local government,” SGA President Jason Maulucci said.

The change to the schedule is “locked in” for at least the next five years, Maulucci said.

“I know tons of folks on SGA are voting [downtown] or heading home to Putney or Underhill to vote today,” he said.

First-year Talia Cohen took advantage of the day off to go home to Shelburne and vote.

“I think I would have made time to vote [if we didn’t have the day off] anyway,” Cohen said. “But I was able to do it during the day; if I had classes I would’ve had to wait until night or something to do it.”

Junior Raphael Desautels said he chose to use an absentee ballot instead of driving an hour

home to Salisbury, Vermont.

“I had to contact someone and get the ballot mailed to me but it was a lot easier than driving home,” Desautels said.

Sophomore Michael Daley, who resides in Johnson, Vermont, said he decided to register to vote in Burlington instead.