The 2016 presidential election can create significant educational opportunities for Clemson and its faculty, staff and students, as candidates look for opportunities to make public appearances, and students, faculty and staff volunteer to work for and contribute to candidates and campaigns.
If you choose to engage in the political process, be mindful of relevant university policies, state laws and federal election regulations. Employees may not use university resources (facilities, computers, email, copiers, telephones, etc.) to campaign for public office. Faculty and staff who wish to support candidates must do so on their own time, using their own resources, and cannot state or imply they are acting on behalf of Clemson University.
The introduction of campaign-related topics into classroom discussions, research projects and commentary by faculty members on political topics are governed by policies on academic freedom and academic responsibility as outlined in the Faculty Manual. (see Faculty Manual – August 2015 (v.1) pages 11 – 13).
State law allows educational institutions to let candidates use its facilities if they are available on similar terms to all candidates and committees. Institutions may permit use of facilities at no charge for educational/information-oriented programs (speeches, Q&A, debate). Institutions may not favor one candidate over another. The Facilities Use Policy identifies which locations on campus are available to the public.
Here are specific Clemson policies that could impact requests made by campaigns about the upcoming election:
If you are contacted by a candidate’s representative about scheduling an official activity on campus, please contact Mark Cothran of the Office of Governmental Affairs, who will serve as the official university liaison with the campaign office.
If you are contacted by a campaign about sharing information on possible student internships or jobs with campaigns, consider sharing that information with the Michelin Career Center as they can verify the accuracy of the information and share it more broadly with the student body.
