In the Aug. 26 issue of Tech Today, the Office of the General Counsel released an article titled, “Guidelines for Political Activity.” This article details advice such as, “You may wear buttons, shirts, and hats that advocate for a political candidate or ballot issue on campus, so long as the context does not imply you are acting on behalf of the University,” and, “When engaging in political activities on your personal time, do not purport to speak for or campaign on behalf of the University.”
When asked for comment on these guidelines, Sarah Schulte, General Counsel for Michigan Tech, said, “Generally I would say that article is targeted towards employees, so those are not guidelines applicable to students, unless they’re student employees.”
Schulte goes on to note that the Office of the General Counsel may have had other motivations for releasing the article rather than simply releasing political guidelines. “Those guidelines are really targeted at the Michigan Law that exists and making sure as an institution we are in compliance with it,” Schulte said. “Really, we put it out there because under that campaign finance act, there are potential ramifications both for individual employees and the institution and we just want to make people aware of it.” The article also details potential punishment violators could face, including fines of up to $1,000 and imprisonment lasting up to one year.
In closing, Schulte reminded The Lode that these guidelines and articles are not new, but are just part of the office’s routine. “We release those… every other year at election time whenever there’s a major election cycle going on just to make sure everybody’s aware.”
More information regarding the policy can be found on the Tech Today website. Students and staff are encouraged to reach out to the Office of General Counsel with further questions regarding the guidelines for political activity.
