By: Shaelyn Thompson, News Crew Member
Iowa State University recently introduced a new draft policy regarding chalking on campus. This policy was released just one month after the university was sued by Speech First, a free speech nonprofit group, because they claimed the interim chalk policy was a violation of the First Amendment.
The new policy allows for all students to use chalk on campus with some restrictions on where and how they can use the chalk. The places in which students are not permitted to use chalk include the Memorial Union plaza and memorial space and the square area bounded by Union Drive, Farmhouse Lane, Osborn Drive, and Morrill Road. Students are not allowed to write on vertical services and sidewalks that are not exposed to the elements, and they are not allowed to mess with chalk writing done by others.
The new policy is not official, so while the interim chalk policy which only allows student organizations to use chalk on university sidewalks in order to promote events is still in place, the community can submit questions and comments about the draft policy before the policy gets revised and is put into effect.
