The DePaul University administration announced that it is banning political chalking because of pro-Trump slogans written on the sidewalk.

The university also claims that because of its nonprofit status, the slogans are deemed partisan and therefore illegal.

Campus Reform:

“While these chalk messages are part of national agendas in a heated political battle, they appeared on campus at a time of significant racial tension in our country and on college campuses. DePaul is no exception,” Depaul’s vice president for student affairs Eugene Zdziarski wrote in a campus-wide email obtained by Campus Reform. “The university has been addressing campus climate issues in an effort to provide an inclusive and supportive educational environment. In this context, many students, faculty and staff found the chalk messages offensive, hurtful and divisive.”

What sort of messages did the administration deem "offensive"?

Last week, Depaul’s College Republicans organized a chalking campaign on campus, during which phrases such as “Make DePaul great again,” “Blue Lives Matter,” and “Trump Train 2016” were scrawled on the sidewalks.

The campus grounds crew removed the chalkings the following morning but cited routine maintenance as one of the reasons for their removal.

“After some investigation, it turns out this happened for two reasons,” the university wrote in a statement. “First, the crew regularly cleans up chalk messages on our sidewalks. This is a part of their duties. Secondly, some among the crew considered the messages inflammatory. The crew has agreed to consult about such matters in the future.”

So now the janitors are making unilateral decisions on what constitutes free speech?  Wow.

It would be an understandable policy if they had been enforcing it all along.  But the ban appears to have been motivated by the "offensive" Trump postings.

Although the grounds crew “regularly cleans up chalk messages,” meaning DePaul students regularly chalk their campus’ sidewalks, this appears to be the first time university officials have expressly addressed their chalking policies. Zdziarski noted, after the Trump chalkings appeared, that students are not even allowed to chalk on sidewalks at all.

We see this kind of lying at every educational level, from grade school to college.  Justification for punitive or oppressive actions comes after the fact and usually involves making up rules as they go along.  It's nauseating to watch.

I see no reason to stop chalking pro-Trump slogans anywhere and everywhere on campus.  This is a bogus rule and so obviously an affront to free speech that it's doubtful the administration would do anything except wipe the chalkings off the sidewalk.