This is an issue of public policy, not of what some may make it out to be as a university not supporting our troops. As anyone knows one complaint from one individual about something that doesn't conform to policy can stir up a bunch of shit, this is the case.

The issue could have been taken the other way by the University not making him take off the sticker. Then people would have accused the university of not following public policy.

A lose-lose situation IMO.

p.s. Even though Eugene is known as extermely liberal/anti-conservative town the support for our troops by the citizens of Eugene is just as strong as that of any other city.

My best friend is over there, my thoughts are always with him. When it comes to supporting our troops, politics and opinions should be left at the door.

http://ridingsun.blogspot.com/2005/01/story-that-just-doesnt-stick.html

If that was the case, this wouldn't be an issue. We know who the complainers are.

And yes, every one is entitled to their opinion, but again, WHY would anyone be offended by "Support the Troops". Any controversy is one manufactured in their own minds.

Having said that, the guys beating you up about the doors have a point. And arguing that it is tradition won't get you far in most debates today.

And as far as the Professors being "heart and soul of a university" I can't argue with you per se, but try and run a University without a maintenance department and see how long that lasts. lol

Yes, a faculty member has a little more leeway. Even with that, this very institution got after faculty who had anti-war signs in their outside windows. A door to an office connotes a private belief, but a window to the world can be misconstrued.

Think of it this way: If the bumper sticker was "Support Our Troops: Bring Them Home" would you be so quick to defend this guy's free speech rights?

Profs decorating their doors is a time-honored tradition. I suppose they are defacing university property. On the other hand, professors are the heart and soul of a university.

People take the maintenance guys political views more seriously than a professors? You said a mouthful there. I think the school has a right to prevent employees from putting personal views on school property but it's hard to understand how it wouldn't apply to profs but would to other staff. If I were the university I'd cite property damage concerns but you could say the same thing about defacement to the professors door.

I'm not suggesting that prof doors should be censored. I simply think that the maintenance man's sticker has as much validity as the literature teacher's political poster.

It is not incumbant of all professors that they express their views under the umbrella of academic freedom. Yet they have the right to exercise free speech regardless of how irrelevant it is to their curriculum. The same should be said of the maintenance man.

An interesting point. I'd argue that professors are a different case because their role in the university is different. No one seeing a professor's door decorated with cartoons and other paraphenalia is likely to think "Aha, this is the view of the University." That's less true of a truck driving around campus with the University logo. Further, professors exist to communicate ideas and stimulate the minds of the students. No other university employee, certainly not the support staff, have a similar mandate. Related to this, of course, is the academic freedom argument. No one suggests that janitors have academic freedom.