Campuses have always been a center of discussion over the nature of free speech - from war protests, to political discourse, to controversial literature, to ... T-shirts?

University Spokeswoman Sue Davis maintains the American Marketing Association broke a trademark law when it manufactured T-shirts with the phrase "So Ill" written over a drawing of the state, the southern portion highlighted.

Davis objected to the paw print in the shirt's original design, so it was removed. But Davis seems to think the University owns the phrase "Southern Illinois." Now, take note - the shirts no longer include any Saluki or SIUC reference but rather a play on words referring to the part of the state and the people who live there.

If SIUC does own the phrase, then several larger and much more dangerous culprits are still running free. To name just a few: Southern Illinois Liquor Mart, Southern Illinois Bank, Southern Illinois Healthcare and, the biggest offender, The Southern Illinoisan.

Perhaps Davis should first tackle So Ill Inc., a business based in DeSoto that sells resin handgrips for rock-climbing walls. After she has shut it down, or at least forced it to change its name, then squashing the American Marketing Association's modest attempt to raise cash should be no challenge whatsoever.

In fact, there are hundreds upon hundreds of businesses that use southern Illinois in their names. They proudly display their geographic location, something that seems like common ground, on the sides of businesses, trucks and windows.

But the marketing students aren't allowed to manufacture T-shirts to raise money to travel to a national convention in New Orleans? It's true - they didn't receive University permission to manufacture them.

The obvious question lingers: Why is this a problem? Surely, no matter how out of touch with hip-hop lingo of years past, people understand that "So Ill" is meant to be a positive and not a negative.

And furthermore, it shouldn't be the spokeswoman's decision. This isn't solely an issue of a stupid rule and a silly misunderstanding; it's a free speech issue as well. Saying the shirt "harms the school's image" shows a general ignorance of what is detrimental and what is just plain fun.

An administrator pretending to own a geographical region's title seems more detrimental to the school's image than any shirt. There must surely be more pressing problems facing the University.

We enjoy seeing students show pride, and any proclamation of love for the area should be encouraged. It may be slang, but the message is the same.

The University's claim to the phrase "Southern Illinois" has about as much merit as the Fox News claim to the phrase "fair and balanced" - especially considering the sheer number of other entities that employ it. When Fox brought suit against Al Franken for using the phrase in the subtitle of a book, their claim was almost literally laughed out of court.

Conflicts like this always tend to boost sales; Franken's book became a bestseller. Maybe the American Marketing Association's T-shirt sales will raise far more than they need to cover expenses for their trip.