How far is too far when it comes to partisan political advocacy?

Inside Higher Ed reports.

Colleges wrestle with federal laws in order to stay politically engaged

Two recent incidents at two very different places, Liberty University and Georgetown University Law Center, have resurrected a persistent issue for private, nonprofit colleges during election season. How far is too far when it comes to partisan political advocacy?

Private, nonprofit universities, like Georgetown and Liberty, maintain their tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which prevents them, as institutions, from intervening in a political campaign on behalf of or against a specific candidate.

In deference to those regulations, Georgetown University Law Center recently barred students supporting Senator Bernie Sanders’s candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination from displaying posters and handing out campaign literature on campus. The kind of activity the law school barred is fairly common at many colleges and universities.