Special Reports

Cleveland State University Officials: Reminded Not To Use School Resources For Political Opinions

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Cleveland State University officials have reminded all staff and faculty not to use any school resource to air their political opinions following an incident at the school, news reports say.

CSU general counsel Sonali Wilson sent an email Tuesday in response to an instructor who directed students to join a rally against President-elect Donald Trump, Cleveland.com reported.

'I am writing to remind everyone that because the University is an instrumentality of the state of Ohio, the use of university resources (e.g., email, letterhead, computers, websites, logos, etc.) to express personal opinions is not permissible," Wilson wrote.

The instructor, a part-time teacher in CSU's women studies program, posted the instructions on her personal Twitter account. CSU spokesperson Will Dube said that through her tweet she told students to "dress warmly" on Nov. 9 because they will march against the President-elect.

Dube said they only discovered the matter after several people responded to the instructor's tweets, tagging the university. School officials contacted the instructor, and the march did not push through.

"They could observe a march as part of a class project but specifically asking the class to protest is not allowed," he said.

Wilson reminded her and all CSU faculty and staff that they must never use the school as an avenue to air their political choices, as the school is non-partisan.

"In keeping with our tax-free status as a public educational institution, and in compliance with applicable law," Wilson wrote, "University faculty and staff should not express partisan positions in an official capacity using university resources or in any way to suggest or give the appearance that the University is sponsoring or supporting such positions."

Despite the email, Wilson explained that faculty and staff are entitled to their personal political opinions, but should only express them through personal accounts, and not through the university's resources.

Elsewhere, it is reported that a college did not just tell its students to join a rally against the President-elect. Rather, it actually sponsored some students to join a rally over the weekend.

Pomona College in Claremont, California, sponsored up to 70 students to join an anti-Trump rally, the Independent Journal Review reported. Specifically, Pomona College's Draper Center for Community Partnerships funded the transportation and accrued expenses of the students who officially joined.

Word has it that the IRS might come and investigate the matter, especially as Pomona College has a 501(c)(3) non-profit status.

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