The University of Montana has reportedly made a group of students take down an improptu sign calling for Trump’s impeachment – not because it makes the school look biased or silly, but because it messes with the local plant life.
A group of students at the University of Montana spelled out the word “IMPEACH” on the side of a mountain this week ahead of President Trump’s campaign rally in Missoula this week, using the school’s “M” emblem as part of the word.
After rolling out a Red, White, and Blue "LIAR" on the opposite mountain ahead of a Trump rally, the UM "M" has now been turned into "iMPEACH" #mtpol #missoula, #mt #liar #impeach pic.twitter.com/l7ZTEBAdBd
— David Gilder (@davidgilder) October 18, 2018
The group, made up of sophomores reportedly unaffiliated with any campus political group, had also reportedly spelled out the word "LIAR" in red, white and blue on another hillside.
Welcome to Missoula, MT @realDonaldTrump #Liar #MAGA #MISSOULA #VoteBlueToSaveAmerica #VOTEBLUE 💙💙💙💙🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/vtlcUARjKU
— ⚽️JJ⚽️ (@JJBlood_) October 18, 2018
KPAX News reports that just as the group was wrapping up their "IMPEACH" project, the school made them take down their little activist display – but not because of its message.
“Not that we don’t support freedom of speech — because of course, we do. But we do have policies that prohibit anyone from posting on live vegetation on campus,” said UM Vice President of Enrollment and Strategic Planning Cathy Cole.
“And anyone putting up anything that is of a display nature they have to get a permit for and the students didn’t have that. So there’s a lot of liability that goes with that and we just want to make sure that everybody is safe,” she added.
Cole made sure to add, however, that the students’ message was not reflective of any university position.
While the sophomores had technically put their message up on public land, local rules and regulations place the mountain under the purview of the university, which owns the land directly in front of the hillside.