Rock chalk Jayhawk and Freedom of Speech.
The KU chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union had a bucket of chalk in front of Wescoe Hall, where they encouraged students to mark on the sidewalks.
The chalking was in response to comments made by KU Provost David Shulenburger that university governance could move to ban sidewalk chalking.
"Overall, it was a pretty good thing, we were pretty happy with the success of it," said J.D. Jenkins, a junior from Shawnee and ACLU advocacy chairman.
Several hundred Kansas University students used chalk Wednesday to express their freedom of speech during a protest.
"We thought if we had a big day like this, a big turnout, then it would send a message to the administration that we value chalking," he said.
The protest was a move to encourage administrators not to ban chalking in the future, Jenkins said.
Students used the chalk to mark a variety of messages, he said, including criticism of the ACLU itself.
"We had students writing things about their organizations, wishing happy birthday to their friends, to protest messages," he said.
One student wrote, "The ACLU has too much time on its hands" and others used more colorful language to criticize the organization, he said.
"That was fine with us, we wanted to see all sides," he said.
"We have some chalk left and I think if the Provost tries to make this into a big issue again, we may do it again," Jenkins said.
Shulenburger was in Pittsburg for the Kansas Board of Regents meeting on Wednesday and wasn't immediately available for comment.
-- Michael Dekker's phone message number is 832-7187. His e-mail address is mdekker@ljworld.com.
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