To be honest, this was the aspect of this advertising campaign that was the most interesting. The issue of the website was fairly cut and dry, but I was kind of curious to see how the university views Facebook pages. I received this email from UNC’s General Counsel:
Dear Mr. Seelinger,
I am writing in reference to your inquiry regarding the reference to Amendment One on the Campus Y’s Facebook page.
Although the student committees in the Campus Y have a long-standing history of taking a stance on social justice issues, state law prohibits them from using University equipment, resources or services, such as computer networks or websites, to promote support for or to oppose an issue in an election. The Campus Y committees may, however, encourage early voting. I am working with the staff in the Campus Y to revise the messaging in the Facebook header to better reflect the applicable law and the importance of early voting.
I think the issue of interest here is the “authority and prestige” argument presented in my first post. There are many forms by which a university unit may communicate: email, websites, fliers, etc. Facebook is simply another medium.
Facebook can easily be an unfair medium