A changed University Housing policy is causing a stir with Austin King, a UW-Madison senior and a candidate for the District 8 aldermanic seat.
King's student group, Students for Austin King, approached University Housing last week intending to purchase labels to send campaign information to all residents of University Housing. However, the group was informed that organizations with political affiliations are no longer allowed to send mailings through the University Housing system.
According to Laura Giles, coordinator for student and staff development at University Housing, the policy regarding mailers was recently changed when the university realized the distribution of political mailings violated a Wisconsin state statute. While student groups who support particular political candidates had been allowed to use the mailing system in the past, multiple incidents in recent months surrounding state employees found campaigning during their work day brought an end to this activity.
\We've had to change our policy halfway through this year,"" she said. ""We're state employees and we can't be doing political campaign work while doing our jobs.""
Even the act of a University Housing employee placing campaign literature in a resident's mailbox is in violation of the statute, Marilyn McIntyre, of the UW-Madison Office of the Registrar, said.
""The state statute and the regulations from the UW System tell us that we cannot use university resources for political purposes,"" she said. ""Even something like distributing a piece of mail in a student's mailbox is using some staff member. Even if that's a student, they're being paid by the university for political purposes.""
King, however disputes this. He said students distributing the mail are paid by the user's fee, not by the university. Furthermore, King claims the UW System policy McIntyre cites has vague wording. The policy states that interdepartmental mail delivery can be purchased by groups who ""deal with the mission and operation of the university.""
""I'm really hard-pressed to believe that having informed citizens is in the mission of the university, but having informed voters is not in the mission of the university,"" King said. ""That distinction seems to be very artificial to me.""
However, McIntyre is adamant about the distinction.
""This is very different from another student organization saying 'I want to send a mailing to everybody in the dorms,'"" she said. ""If you are Students for Austin King, that is a political motivation and that is a problem.""
Giles and McIntyre said their offices, along with the UW-Madison Office of Legal Services, are currently discussing the policy in question with hopes of making it clearer.
