Who is Louis DeJoy, and What Does He Have to do with Elon?

If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you know that the United States Postal Service has been undergoing changes that some perceive as a threat to the November presidential election. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, many have suggested mail-in voting, which President Trump avidly advocates against to prevent “voter fraud.” However, a study by the Washington Post shows that the percentage of voter fraud through the United States mail system lies only at about 0.0025%.

In June 2020, Louis DeJoy, a Greensboro businessman and major Trump donor, took over as postmaster general of the USPS. Under DeJoy, changes to the organization’s infrastructure have resulted in longer delivery times and decreased efficiency.

DeJoy has mandated that all trucks depart the station on time, regardless of whether all of the day’s mail is ready or not, causing some mail to be put off until the next day. The postmaster general also suggested the discontinuation of overtime, which is sometimes necessary to complete the day’s deliveries.

DeJoy stated that the changes to the postal service are part of an existing plan to restructure the system and also admitted that they may be at fault for some of the delays. Many question his motives, as President Trump has suggested cutting funding to the USPS to discourage mail-in voting and DeJoy continues to be a mega-donor.

So how do the issues with the USPS relate to Elon? Well, DeJoy has been a member of Elon’s Board of Trustees since 2007, and many Elon students and alumni find the power he holds within the university to be problematic.

Students began circulating a petition created by an Elon alumna to have DeJoy removed from Elon’s Board of Trustees, which can be found here. President Connie Ledoux Book responded to these concerns on Tuesday, stating that DeJoy’s values seem to be in line with those of the university and that the Board of Trustees stands by him.

In light of President Book’s statement, students remain dissatisfied and are continuing to push for DeJoy’s removal.

For more information about the current state of the USPS, please visit this website.

The USPS has been affected recently by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, an Elon trustee. Photo from pixabay.com.