Just a couple of hours ago we were in the Union, and saw a table the College Democrats had set up to collect signatures on a petition to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
But no sign said “Recall Walker.” Marquette’s Student Affairs office won’t let the group call the table a “Recall Walker” table.
It has to be a “petition signing” table
Why? The College Democrats were a bit vague on the bureaucratic logic behind this, but we suspect it’s because Marquette, as an institution, can’t engage in “electioneering.” We have blogged about this, and how Marquette
has taken an excessively narrow and risk averse position on the issue.
Of course, not calling the table a “Recall Walker” table doesn’t change the fact that that’s what it is.
And indeed, student organizations have often, on this campus, engaged in electioneering.
Ian Jamieson, the person at Student Affairs who is responsible for this restriction, was not immediately available to comment.
When he provides us with an explanation, we will post it here.
But we have a hard time seeing how any explanation will be plausible (other than from a very narrow bureaucratic perspective).
Labels: College Democrats, Ian Jamieson, Marquette, Petition, Recall Walker Campaign