The vote stops here

It’s hard to imagine not seeing chalkings for Barack Obama or John McCain while walking to class at IU. And it’s certain the disappearance of clipboard-holding campaigners won’t happen until after Election Day.

Across the state line, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign might be a politics-free zone after a five-year-old law prohibiting state employees from engaging in political activity is enforced.

Originally designed to prohibit state workers from campaigning on state time or with state resources, the Governor’s Office of Executive Inspector General told the Chicago Tribune that this ban might also prohibit students from engaging in political activity on public university campuses.

We agree that the sentiment of the law is valuable.

Making sure incumbents do not use public funds to further their own political careers is vital to establishing a healthy democracy.

We’ve seen this in Indiana. Concerns have been raised about Gov. Mitch Daniels’ alleged use of a state plane for his re-election campaign.

Without regulation, anyone who was once elected to an office would have an incentive to misuse state funds to hold their office indefinitely.

But students at Urbana-Champaign are a far cry from inappropriately using a political office and state funds or time to unduly sway the vote. Consequently, the way Illinois state officials would enforce their law would not make the election process more efficient.

True, a public university campus has a special link with state government. But allowing the individuals who call it their home – the, students – to show their support for candidates and causes does not constitute a government’s endorsement of itself. After all, students aren’t campaigning on state time or money.

Activism on campuses is a valuable component of any good education. It encourages the next generation of leaders to engage the issues of their time in a meaningful and practical way.  

That’s an idea any state government should be willing to subsidize.