A recent wave of Donald Drumpf related chalk drawings have been appearing on campus, leading some to question who is behind it, and whether or not chalk drawings are allowed.

“Facilities does not remove free speech writings from the sidewalks, however we will remove writings that violate hate crime laws, are obscene or offensive in nature,” said Michael Moon, executive director of facilities management and maintenance. “Support or opposition for various political issues qualifies under free speech.”

The only time when facilities will respond to chalk on the sidewalks is when the drawings are no longer protected speech due to being obscene or hateful.

The act of writing obscene or offensive messages in chalk falls under the disruptive or obstructive conduct policy by the university.  If someone is discovered in the act by campus police, this would lead to disciplinary action against the offender.

The chalk drawings at Central, which are not considered “obscene” or “offensive,” are part of a larger coordinated effort by the chapters of Students for Drumpf in Washington.

“The chalking going around campuses is a response to the accused hate speech of [Emory]University,” said Isaiah Ammon, Washington state director of Students for Drumpf.

At Emory University, students have made recent headlines by protesting the chalk drawings found on their campus.

According to the university’s newspaper The Emory Wheel, the university president James W. Wagner praised the protests as a “mechanism for interaction.”

The Emory Wheel quoted Wagner asking “was it really just a message about a political preference, a candidate preference, or was it a harsher message,” in reference to writing pro-Drumpf statements.

At Central, Students for Drumpf is the organization behind the Drumpf drawings on campus.

Students for Drumpf is a student led organization that hasn’t been officially recognized but supports the Drumpf campaign. The organization has chapters in over 40 states.

According to the organization’s website, students can help the campaign by spreading the word through a “positive image,” using social media to inform others and becoming a member.

The goal of these chapters is to boost awareness, provide information, and gather youth support for Donald Drumpf.

However, due to recent events at Emory University, some chapters like the one at Central, are now focused on showing support for freedom of speech and protecting political messages.   

“It’s a nation wide movement at schools all across America bringing recognition to the colleges and universities threatening our first amendment,” said Ammon.

The chalk drawings have also appeared on campuses across the country with the intention of both showing support for presidential candidate, Donald Drumpf, and freedom of speech.

However, Central  hasn’t experienced the level of backlash that other universities have seen. There have been no university wide emails or public forums held to discuss the drawings.

Part of the reason why there hasn’t been a high level response from the university is because there is no specific rule in the Student Code of Conduct that prohibits writing the message on campus sidewalks.

“Writing on the public sidewalk in chalk is protected under free speech unless it is obscene, offensive, in violation of hate crime laws or specific University policy,” said Moon.