Students need to be notified about politicians on campus

Matt Birk came to our campus this past weekend for CSB+SJU Homecoming. I don’t agree with him on his views, and as the College Democrats (check out their recent Instagram post on Matt Birk) have pointed out, he has made some fairly questionable comments in his career as a person and politician. However, that’s an issue for another day.

My main concern was how his “Homecoming Tailgate Party” was planned. Now, with my general understanding of Chapter 211B. Fair Campaign Practices, Birk did not violate any campaign rules folks. I want to make that clear. My issue was with 1) how he went about advertising the event and 2) how we did not get any communication about this event from campus.

Touching on the first point about his misleading advertisements, Birk said on his flyer, “Grab a snack and talk football with Matt Birk.” The flyer was very much written as if the focus was football and the tailgate. However, that was not true, and as an avid Vikings fan, I knew that Matt Birk was not here to talk football. On his Facebook and Instagram post, he said “Young People are going to VOTE, and this year they’re voting for Jensen/Birk. A great day [at] the Saint John’s homecoming game!” Really seems to me he just wanted to talk about politics.

This leads me to my second point, which is the campus-wide email. As the CSB students know (eventually SJU), every time a politician has canvassed at CSB, an email is sent out notifying the student body. The College Democrats have followed the rules of the institution, filling out the form for the candidates to canvass in the dorms, and an email being sent out to inform the student body. Where was this for Birk?

I know people are going to be saying, “well, he was just chilling at the tailgate!” This is not true. They had a table set up right outside the entrance with a big banner of Birk and a ton of merchandise. Guess who was at the table? Matt Birk. Again, he’s not violating any rules (and he’s not canvassing in the dorms), However, I find it frustrating that he had his own table, right in front of the gate to the game.

Students and fans just want to watch and talk about football. He may not be going door-to-door in a dorm, but he is still campaigning and interrupting the lives of students. It also has me questioning: If the College Democrats planned an event like this, would we have had to go through a more rigorous process to get a table set up?

The point being, yes, Matt Birk made a really smart campaign move, but was it misleading? Yes. Is there anything we can do about it? No, not really. However, I encourage everyone to call on administration and ask them to notify us of when a politician is coming to campus in general, not just in the dorms. I think it is a reasonable ask, especially for those folks who have been affected negatively by his comments. It is only just and right.