The ethics office at the University of Illinois recently sent a notice to all faculty and staff informing them that they are forbidden from showing any signs of political preference on campus. Wearing buttons supporting a candidate, sporting a bumper sticker on a car, or attending a political rally on campus were explicitly labeled off limits. Many faculty are shocked at the school’s overzealous attempt to avoid anything that might ever be considered a university endorsement. In this case, however, the debate over the appropriate limits to politics on campus may be interfering with the faculty’s First Amendment rights.

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