OPINION:
DePaul University students, don’t fear! There will be no more political “chalking” at your school.
Apparently, someone wrote — with chalk — on a campus sidewalk last week: “Make DePaul Great Again.” The message sent students and staff into a tailspin. The xenophobia! The bigotry! The racism!
“While these chalk messages are part of national agendas in a heated political battle, they appeared on campus at a time of significant racial tension in our country and on college campuses. DePaul is no exception,” DePaul’s vice president for student affairs Eugene Zdziarski wrote in a campus-wide email obtained by Campus Reform. “The university has been addressing campus climate issues in an effort to provide an inclusive and supportive educational environment. In this context, many students, faculty and staff found the chalk messages offensive, hurtful and divisive.”
Mr. Zdziarski cited the school’s nonprofit status, which prohibits students from engaging in political activities that could be reflected as the university’s “views or opinions.”
So no more political chalking allowed.
Last week, DuPaul’s College Republicans organized a chalking — something very typical at the school — and wrote things such as “Make DePaul great again,” “Blue Lives Matter,” and “Trump Train 2016,” according to Campus Reform. The next morning, when the grounds crew cleaned up the chalking, some on the team found the messages to be inflammatory.
No word on whether “Black Lives Matter,” or “Hope” or “Change,” are political messages, or whether they will be tolerated in future chalking.
The main lesson here is the children — the students — are safe. They’re safe from any political messaging or viewpoints they may disagree with.
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