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Seriously. That policy is about candidates.
Your policy seems to cover political candidates. Are you aware of any office for which Bay Buchanan is a candidate?
I read your post and would like to shed some light on this issue.
Because we are a 501(c)(3) organization, the College of St. Catherine has sought to avoid any appearance of partisanship during the 2008 political season.
This post missed the guidelines regarding political activities for debates and forums, which I attach below. Site limitations prevent me from posting our entire policy.
The policy was posted on Stkate.edu January 2008. Student groups and advisors were provided copies.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions.
F. Political Activity Guidelines
Revised January 2008
Section 501(c)(3) contains an absolute prohibition on participation or intervention in political campaign activities in support or in opposition to candidates. Organizations that violate this ban are subject to revocation of their tax exemption. They also risk the imposition of excise tax penalties on the organization itself as well as on organization managers who approve the making of expenditures for impermissible political purposes.
Definition of terms
A candidate is an individual who offers herself or himself as a contestant for an elective public office, whether such office is national, State or local. Section 501(c)(3) defines participation in a political campaign as including the publishing or distribution of statements. IRS regulations further provide that publication or distribution of written or printed statements or the making of oral statements on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate constitute intervention in a political campaign. Absolutely no payments may be made to support candidates and political campaigns.
Permissible Political Activities
Some activities that are political in nature are permissible under Section 501(c)(3) as “educational” activities. The regulations provide that in order to be considered “educational”, activities must present a “sufficiently full and fair exposition of the pertinent facts.” The presentation of information must not be biased and must “permit an individual or the public to form an independent opinion or conclusion.”
Candidate Debates and Forums
The college may provide forums for candidate debates without those activities constituting impermissible political activities. In general, the college of St. Catherine must ensure a fair and neutral forum and provide equal time to all qualified candidates.
The following factors should be considered in determining whether a debate/forum is a permissible political activity:
(1) The debate/forum should include all legally qualified candidates for the contested office. If the candidate is unavailable, the student/campus organization must provide the view of any candidates unable to participate. That information should be gathered from non-partisan sources, which may include, but are not limited to NPR, MPR, Women League of Voters, etc. or other independent, non-partisan groups. This information must be provided in written form to the Office of Student Affairs at least one calendar week prior to the event in order to verify compliance with the Political Activity Guidelines.
(2) The debate/forum topics should cover a broad range of issues, including those issues of importance to the organization sponsoring the debate.
(3) The questions presented to the candidates should be composed by an independent, non- partisan group. Such a group could include members of the educational organization, the media, and community leaders.
(4) A moderator should be selected by the sponsoring organization and her or his role should be limited to ensuring that the debate ground rules are followed. The moderator should refrain from commenting on the candidates’ statements in a way that demonstrates approval or disapproval of their ideas.
(5) The debate should begin and end with a clear statement to the effect that the views presented are those of the candidates and not of the sponsoring organization.
They should bring her to campus anyway and dare the campus authorities to throw them out. Bring television cameras.
This is never acceptable. End of story.
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