With less than a week left before the midterm elections, political student organizations are busy campaigning by dropping literature in campus lecture halls, such as 3650 Humanities.
This campaigning was considered acceptable until the Student Organization Office and Elton Crim, UW-Madison associate dean, brought university policy regarding leafleting in campus buildings to the attention of political student organizations.
Director of Student Organizations Yvonne Fangmeyer contacted the first student organization communicating the specific guidelines of UW-Madison policy associated with leafleting on campus Oct. 9. The SOO then sent an e-mail shortly after during the week of Oct. 19 to several other student organizations regarding the same issue.
The e-mail read, ""Leafleting in any classroom is not acceptable by any group ... Proper procedures would be to contact a building manager and ask if leaflets could be left in a designated lobby area in any given building.""
It noted, however, that Registered Student Organizations may post literature on campus bulletin boards if they receive permission from the bulletin board's contact person.
Student organizations continue to campaign using leaflets, despite being warned of the school policy and state election laws that forbid them.
According to UW-Madison junior Elijiah Lewien, chair of UW-Madison College Democrats, the organization continued to leaflet even after receiving the e-mail since members recognized other political organizations also doing so.
""As long as other groups continue to lit drop, I don't see why we should need to stop,"" Lewien said.
He specifically recognized literature from other organizations also contacted by the SOO, including UW-Madison College Republicans.
Assistant Director of the SOO Renee Alfano said the policy was not enforced in the past and the intent of the e-mail was to communicate the presence of such a policy on campus.
However, a letter sent to all university employees Sept. 20, 2004, from Melany Newby, vice chancellor for legal and executive affairs, said, ""Student and employee organizations may reserve university meeting space for political discussion and debate. The appropriate means for announcements related to these activities are U.S. mail, leafleting outside university buildings, campus bulletin boards that are not reserved for official use and meeting announcements in Wisconsin Week.""
If groups continue to campaign using leaflets in the future, they could face consequences anywhere from a warning to expulsion from RSO status.
""We definitely will be modifying our processes in the future to make sure the policy is clear,"" Alfano said. ""I just want them to have clean campaigns and get their message across.""
