Although Wesleyan is a school known for its interest in politics, past policy has made it surprisingly difficult to bring political candidates to campus. Although the recent arrival of David Winakor, the University’s first on-campus legal counsel, has generated hope for a more lenient policy on political speakers, so far no changes have been made.
Student officials claim the University’s policy is more conservative than those at other elite Connecticut schools, and makes it difficult bring high profile speakers to campus.
“There’s nowhere in the state, not at Yale, not at UConn, not at Trinity, not at Connecticut College, that policies on speakers are as restrictive as at Wesleyan,” said President of the College Democrats of Connecticut Matt Lesser ’09.
These policies are a result of the University’s interpretation of tax code for non-profit organizations. Wesleyan is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization, meaning it is exempt from federal income taxes. Organizations granted this status are required to avoid candidate-specific political advocacy.
“A student organization choosing to bring a candidate to campus must take responsibility to assure that all other candidates [for the same office] are given opportunities to speak for the same amount of time in similar venues,” the University’s policy reads.
Winakor and other lawyers have advised that allowing a candidate to speak on campus using University resources could be a violation of the tax law.
“The IRS has ruled that prohibited activity may include indirect support such as the use of institutional resources and facilities,” Winakor said.
According to Wesleyan Student Assembly representative Mike Pernick ’10, the WSA was expecting a “more liberal” interpretation than Winakor’s.
Pernick and Lesser both mentioned an instance last year when Ned Lamont, at that time a Connecticut senatorial candidate, “snuck onto campus” unannounced because student groups were not allowed to bring him to campus.
Lesser also said that when students invited Connecticut’s Third District congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who represents Middletown, school policy did not allow her to speak on campus and as a result she spoke at a Middletown bar instead. Eight students attended.
The options for student groups that want to bring candidates to campus vary with the circumstances. Timothy Shiner, director of student activities and leadership development, said he would work with students to ensure that they were legally compliant when bringing political speakers to campus.
“There is a great deal of gray area on this issue,” he said. “It would be simple for a student group to extend an invitation to all candidates for a given position and be in compliance. If a student group wished to bring a single candidate, it would be much more difficult.”
Whatever the logistics are, Pernick believes that maintaining the current policy is flawed.
“[The current policy] is detrimental to the school’s outside image, and to its intellectual community,” he said.
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