Georgia residents can voice their opinions of Columbus State University’s use of state resources to support an active political movement by using the University System of Georgia’s Ethics and Compliance Reporting Hotline here.

Columbus State University announced it is producing a “social justice” mural here in Columbus, raising questions about the school’s use of state resources to brazenly act in support of an active political movement. 

Institutions funded by public money must remain apolitical by law.

In a Columbus State University News article dated September 2, 2022, the state-funded public university openly stated their production of the mural is focused on “supporting the idea of social justice and community healing while amplifying the voices of the marginalized and their allies.”

However, public institutions like Columbus State University are prohibited by policy and law from holding political stances and acting in favor of one. The university is specifically forbidden from using state resources to act in support of political campaigns like the highly-contentious political movement of “social justice” — or any other for that matter.

As part of the University System of Georgia (USG), Columbus State University is required to follow policy derived from and designed to comply with both federal and state laws. 

These policies are dictated by the Board of Regents, which acts as the overseeing authority under Georgia’s state constitution by governing, controlling, and managing the University System of Georgia. The board publishes their legally-derived policies in a manual for institutions to follow.

Several clauses within the board’s policy manual require their institutions to restrict the political activities of employees as well as of the universities themselves. Columbus State University’s announcement that it is acting in support of a current political movement appears to violate every bit of policy dictated by the board.

The policy manual first describes the Board of Regents’ general stance on the political actions of USG  institutions and their employees, stating the board is “unalterably opposed to political interference or domination of any kind or character in the affairs of any University System of Georgia (USG) institution.” 

An additional section includes a code of conduct requiring that USG members will “avoid improper political activities as defined in law and Board of Regents Policy.”

One of those policies prohibits universities from using their resources for political purposes,  stating that “the use of USG materials, supplies, equipment, machinery, or vehicles in political campaigns is forbidden.” Given that all political activity inherently supports a campaign, Columbus State University’s support of the “social justice” political movement appears to blatantly violate this policy and the state laws with which it is designed to comply. 

Additionally, publishing the university’s support for the political movement to their state-sponsored website appears to be an ironic violation of policy and state law in-and-of itself.

A separate policy section dictates that “it is inappropriate for USG employees to manage or enter political campaigns while on duty to perform services for the USG (...) a USG employee may not manage or take an active part in a political campaign that interferes with the performance of duties or services for which he or she receives compensation from the USG.” 

Given that the state-funded university itself is the entity taking an active part in a political campaign, the university’s open support for the political movement is inherently occurring while “on duty to perform services for the USG.” 

In lieu of the aforementioned policies, the policy manual also describes how university presidents of USG institutions like Columbus State University must approach and manage the risks associated with their actions. The manual provides examples of various types of risks that can affect the university’s wellbeing if university presidents do not manage them properly. 

One example noted by the policy manual are reputational risks, which are defined as risks that “affect reputation, public perception, political issues, and related matters.” This means that even if Columbus State University does not consider their outspoken support of an active political movement to constitute political action, the public’s perception of the university’s overtly-political activity is considered enough to constitute a substantial risk to the university and its operations.

Given Columbus State University’s current financial situation, its tremendous reduction in enrollment, and its recent layoff of faculty members, the university’s decision to accept such a reputational risk appears to be a negligent violation of the public’s trust in the institution as a whole.

Georgia residents can voice their opinions of Columbus State University’s use of state resources to support an active political movement by using the University System of Georgia’s Ethics and Compliance Reporting Hotline here.