With all due respect, the campaign zone violations seem petty compared to the fines. Anyone, not just those Lozan accused, could have hung the sign outside the zone.

Maybe someone had a grudge and wanted him to “get caught.” Also, the fine for wearing buttons might be justified by the fact that “a number” of known supporters were wearing them off-campus, but does this mean that if I’m going home to Towers, I have to remove any button I might be wearing on my backpack or coat before crossing Lincoln Way?

That said, I don’t believe the zoning requirements are any attempt to restrict free speech, as some have proclaimed.

I think it’s a matter of restricting college business to college property. Can you imagine how messy and cluttered Campustown and neighboring streets would become if posters weren’t restricted to campus?

There would be posters on every post on every street anywhere near Campustown, and maybe not so near, if distribution were unrestricted.

Besides the massive, negative environmental impact, guess who would have to take the signs down? I doubt the campaigns would. How would you punish a campaign after the fact? Strip a winning campaign of its seats? What would a losing campaign have to lose after the race?

Punishing even minor violations keeps any campaign from thinking that it can ignore regulations, even if the fine seems unreasonable. Confining campaigns to campus and college-owned properties is responsible citizenship on the part of the Election Commission, and ultimately the college.

Neither the City of Ames nor the businesses we love in Campustown are burdened with our mess, which helps town-gown relations.

The campaigns are our business and should stay on our property.

Jeni Nosbisch

Senior

German