As Washington University gears up to host the presidential debate on October 8, students are taking the opportunity to champion their political beliefs by inviting politicians, analysts and even a popular indie band to campus. However, administrators must decide between activities that foster open dialogue between students and those that threaten the University’s neutral political stance-and they’re finding the line to be very thin.
In April, the University released a memorandum defining its stance on political activities on campus. Events must be open to everyone, and they cannot serve as fundraisers for a political candidate. Then the line blurs-an event cannot become a political rally, meaning that administrators are put in the position of predicting how an event will unfold.
“It’s just part of the game,” said Vice Chancellor for Students Jill Carnaghi. “But I think in a national election year, there’s way more interest in various individuals and groups coming to campus, and all kinds of student groups are interested in hosting.”
To maintain tax-exempt status, Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code “absolutely prohibits the University from participating or intervening, directly or indirectly, in any political campaign.”
“As a non-profit institution and a neutral institution, we cannot be seen as hosting events that are completely partisan in nature,” said Director of Governmental Relations Pamela Lokken.
In the past, students have chosen to host partisan events off campus in order to avoid the restriction. For instance, Carnaghi said that during the 2000 presidential campaign, some students met at Blueberry Hill to host a political meeting.
Carnaghi stressed that the University does invite and encourage all open dialogue on campus.
“What are the parameters and how do we allow as many options and possibilities as possible?” asked Carnaghi. “If it’s a nonpartisan group, it’s not a problem. We want as many individual groups as possible to be able to come to campus.”
An upcoming musical performance has recently come under scrutiny. The Gargoyle booked Yo La Tengo, an alternative band, to play in the basement of Mallinckrodt on October 4. But the performance is more than entertainment-the group is making a tour of swing states to support Democratic candidate John Kerry.
According to a description of the upcoming tour posted on the band’s Web site, the group’s “plan/hope is to have guest musicians, singers and comedians at all the shows…. In this relatively informal setting, [they] will offer [their] thoughts on the election (and trust [their] comedian friends to do so as well, only more entertainingly).”
As for the appropriateness of the concert, the jury is still out. Lokken said she would need more information to decide whether hosting the band on campus violated university policy.
“In my opinion (the performance) is not partisan. It’s a concert; it’s not a political rally,” said the Gargoyle Committee’s Adam Wood, a senior who books events for the group. “It will be treated by the Gargoyle Committee as a standard Gargoyle event. We pay artists, artists perform, people pay to see the artists.”
If election fever strikes campus with the force many expect, administrators say that Yo La Tengo’s visit may not be the only event to prompt further study. For student groups with questions about the policy, the guidelines are posted online at www.wustl.edu/policies/polfac.html.