I held class this morning. I thought a lot about cancelling it but instead I told students that attendance was totally optional, that they should prioritize voting and taking care of themselves. Some students showed up, some did not.

Some students are voting. I'm willing to bet some students slept in. Some students showed up ready to engage in conversation. It doesn't matter, they made the choice they needed to for themselves.

During class I talked a little about our course content but we spent most of the time talking about biology research and clinical trials. We talked about how biology research is funded and why regulations on clinical trials are so important.

These are things that are political because they are tied to government institutions but they shouldn't be partisan. We should all want well-funded, ethical research to be happening in our country. We should want sound data for the drugs coming out of clinical trials.

Students shared some good perspectives and if this is the only way I contribute to these students thinking about how they want to engage with politics, I'll call it a day well worth it.

Was it the most impactful class of the semester? Definitely not. But I left with a sense of purpose that will get me through the day and I can only hope my students felt that just a little as well.