Student organizations demonstrated their issues with Iowa State’s administration for its implementation of a new trademark policy at a meeting Thursday evening.

Under guidelines instituted in the summer of 2018, many student groups had to remove the name of the university from their organization name as well as stop using Cy in their logo. Student Government is currently fighting this plan by issuing a resolution and talking with the administration.

“Moving forward, we don’t know what they are going to do yet,” Speaker Cody Woodruff said. “Right now it’s a waiting game. The ball is in their court.”

For the immediate future, Student Government wants an apology from the university and an immediate block on the enforcement of the policy. They have alternate plans of action if this deliberation works out poorly.

Woodruff, other members of Student Government and organization presidents agreed that acts of protest like wearing trademarked clothing and sending emails to university officials were encouraged. Student Government also talked to Student Legal Services regarding a possible lawsuit on using the First Amendment as a basis for suit.

“Would we be able to sue our own university? The answer is yes,” Woodruff said. “If things got terrible. It’s on the table. We are literally looking at every single possibility.”

One issue that Student Government had with the process is the lack of transparency. Woodruff said they have not been able to produce any documentation, including the email that was sent out to club organization presidents, Regent or Big 12 policies that may have prompted the new university measures. In addition to this, he said the meetings that the university had about this subject originally were not public and did not have any minutes recorded.

“Things are getting worse, not better,” Woodruff said. “This fuse is getting shorter and shorter.”

To help stop things like this from happening again, Student Government is trying to get more representation for student organizations on the Trademark Advisory Committee (TAC). This was not a focus before, and Student Government accepts some responsibility for not doing more before.

“We did accept as Student Government members, our share of responsibility,” Woodruff said. “We did not do enough and there was definitely not enough communication between the Student Government and administration.”

The presidents of various clubs also voiced their disapproval, as well. Alex Zimmerman, a member of the Air Force ROTC, voiced his concerns.

“Some patches, symbols and name are from the 1950s and its really, really, really frickin’ annoying,” Zimmerman said. “Some graduating seniors won’t be able to get their apparel. It’s screwing up a lot of tradition and that is important for military culture.”

While some organizations like the Track Club and other athletic groups have not been hit as hard by the policy, they still feel a general sense of not being warned. In addition to this, they are concerned about how recognizable their organizations will now be to the broader community.

“There is a disconnect between the university and us, but also with the fans,” said Chris Johnson, a member of the golf club.

“We have heard talk of focus groups,” said Kristina Swenson of the Track Club. “I think half the problem is every time [university administration] talk, they say something different.”

In addition to students being angry, Woodruff and others believe that many faculty advisrrs and alumni are mad as well. However, the Alumni Association has not become involved yet.

Finance Director of Student Government Seth Carter voiced his concerns saying the policy wasn’t right as Cy was created by a former student and that 70 percent of university funds come from the students.

“This upsetness will die at graduation and that’s what they want,” Carter said. “If you take away the student body, then there is nothing to trademark.”