I sincerely hope someone tries to register folks in my classes:
At the University of Dayton, Daniel Rajaiah encourages his fellow Democrats to carry voter registration forms to class, to parties and around campus in case they find someone who hasn’t yet registered. Members of the College Democrats set up tables in the middle of campus a few days a week to catch students walking to class or to the cafeteria.
“Our game plan this fall is to hit voter registration very hard,” said Rajaiah, who is president of the College Democrats of Ohio.
Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw tried to challenge the FDA on First Amendment grounds, claiming that advertising is protected by freedom of the press. When I worked at Coin World the editors were all j-school graduates, except for the Pricing editor and me (international desk). They maintained a bright line barrier between editorial and advertising – and rightfully so – but Stuart would quip, “Advertising is content!”
In my last encounter with the Powers that Be at Eastern Michigan University, I got permission (I thought) to sell antique stock certificates and other numismatic collectibles in the Business College building. I was met by Dr. LaVerne Higgins, Associate Dean and College of Business Building Administrator. She told me that no one is allowed to sell things in the Business College. I pointed to the ATM and the snack bar. She said that they have contracts with the universitty. Pointing to the ceiling, I said that one floor above us, student groups were selling t-shirts. She replied that they were non-profit clubs recognized by her office and that she does not allow private individuals to make a profit in the Business College. (I swear to God…)
Well look, I’d give them a pass on this one. The reason they don’t want “private individuals” etc to sell things in college dorms and classrooms, is because that doesn’t really help them with the mission of the university. You wouldn’t want people selling things inside YOUR business (here you are in your store, and someone comes in and tries to sell stuff to your customers). I can imagine schools getting a little overwhelmed with peddlers of all sorts if they were allowed to go into dorms full of 18 year olds with mommy’s and daddy’s money who don’t have the most basic understanding of money (which is of course why they shouldn’t be allowed to vote either, unless they can prove financial independence)
This is not just any business in a mall, it is a state university supported by tax dollars whose Board is appointed by the Governor with the approval of the State Senate. Moreover, it is an “urban” school where only 3,000 of the 22,000 live in dormitories while the rest walk, bike, ride the bus, or commute in cars from 1, 5, 10, or 30 miles away.
I understand that the university must maintain some semblance of public order.
On our community college campus – again funded by a tax millage – as a security guard, I was empowered to remove the petitioners of our incumbant Congressman because the Board of the college declared that it is not a First Amendment site.
I question who makes the decisions and (as Ayn Rand famously asked) “by what standard.? Rand pointed out that the great evil of totalitarianism not that laws are ruthlessly enforced, but that they are subjectively enforced according to the whim of those in power. Thus, you cannot sell sandwiches in the dormitory, but you can interrupt and commandeer a professor’s classroom to petition for the Democratic Party.