Those who feel the need to chalk-up a friend’s birthday tally with scrawled sidewalk messages and taped-down signs, you’re free to do so.

There is no university policy or law being enforced that makes such celebrating a prohibited act.

Even so, campus officials would encourage students to save the chalk for other uses — such as a throwback game of hopscotch in your parent’s driveway — rather than writing on campus walkways.

It’s not just birthday well-wishers who are using outdoor areas to announce happenings. Other events this year, such as a visit by Vice President Al Gore and a Martin Jischke speech, also have been colorfully promoted along the 34 miles of sidewalks that weave in and around campus.

“There isn’t a direct policy on the use of chalk, but it does concern us,” said David Miller, director of facilities and utilities at Facilities, Planning and Management. “The chalk isn’t so bad, but when paint is used or signs are taped to things, it becomes a bigger and more costly problem.”

Miller said there are two main concerns about signs on campus.

“First is what the signs do to our campus. Anything that is taped somewhere eventually ends up being trash, which decreases overall cleanliness. The second concern is the damage done where signs are taped. Over time, the tape really damages surfaces, leading to costly maintenance work.”

Loras Jaeger, director of the Department of Public Safety, said DPS doesn’t categorize it as vandalism or get involved unless requested to do so by the university.

“Unless we get a complaint, it’s not something we deal with,” he said. “If something more serious is done, like marker or paint being used on artwork or buildings, then we’ll usually look into it.”

Miller said the university doesn’t see law enforcement as a necessary step to take in response to the messages and signs.

“We’re certainly not interested in getting into an enforcement of it,” he said. “I hope that people will just use common sense as to where is and isn’t an appropriate place for this stuff.”

Where is an appropriate place?

“There are bulletin boards up in just about every building,” Miller said. “And as departments come to us and request more space, we try to add them. They sometimes get messy, but usually someone from the department works with us to keep them from becoming a paper jungle.”

Miller also recognizes the lack of outdoor options for messages.

“Some universities have outdoor kiosks for stuff, but what happens is that they then become targets of vandalism themselves,” he said. “So, yes, there aren’t as many places outdoors. I’m not sure what to tell someone who really feels like they have to put signs up outdoors.”

Holly Deimerly, freshman in pre-business, said she thinks the chalk messages are a nice gesture.

“I’d really like it if someone did that for me,” she said. “It’d be nice to read them along the way to classes.”

Miller said students should compare the campus’s appearance to keeping a house clean.

“I would tell people to treat campus as you would your home; treat it like you’re expecting a guest,” he said, “because the university does have many guests every day.”