A tiff between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the state's Republican and Democratic parties is on hold today after the university  suspended a new policy banning political campaign materials from the Memorial Stadium grounds.

Political groups will be allowed to hand out fliers and other literature in the stadium area before and after Nebraska's opener with Western Illinois tonight.

The access may be fleeting, though, as UNL leaders still wish to clarify the policy and eventually push the politics — and now, possibly "other non-football related activity," according to UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman —  back onto public streets and an area just north of the Nebraska Union.

The access will be permanent if David Kramer, chairman of the state's Republican Party, has his way.

Kramer spent much of Thursday calling University of Nebraska regents and urging them to pressure UNL to reconsider.

He says he may speak at Friday's Board of Regents meeting. Legal action is still an option if all else fails.

"Frankly, I think the (suspended policy) is pretty close-minded," he said. "I'd expect a lot more from an institution of higher learning."

Perlman has argued that the university has the right to limit speech in this case and is justified in doing so because the game day politicking bothers fans.

He said the policy, which appears to ban political literature while allowing commercial, religious or nonprofit fliers with the proper permit, is legally defensible but may also be unclear and difficult to enforce.

That's the reason for the policy's suspension, he said in a university press release.

"I continue to believe that our fans would appreciate a reasonable policy that would move political campaigning and other non-football related activity away from the stadium proper," he said.

In recent years, the university has allowed only a few groups to hawk their wares, according to Christine Jackson, UNL's vice chancellor of business and finance.

Various student groups have a permit to sell balloons. The University Bookstore and Husker Authentic have permits to advertise.

But no one seems to know how many unauthorized businesses, nonprofits and political groups also have handed out leaflets and fliers in the past.

The Republicans have been there as long as Kramer can remember, handing out Nebraska schedules and rosters that also include a political advertisement.

He thinks political parties, and all the other groups that converge on the red-clad throng outside Memorial Stadium, should be allowed to do so.

The university appears to disagree, citing the reason for that throng — a Husker football game — and the litter that covers the stadium grounds afterward.

The university has no timetable to clarify the language, and Jackson isn't sure whether the reviewed policy will look much like the current, suspended one.

Kramer isn't sure, either.

"Could gay and lesbian groups pass out their pink triangles? Could I stand on a corner and pass out smiley faces?

"Why can't I hand out something that says, ‘Vote for Jeff Fortenberry?'

"Somebody please explain to me what is so troubling about any of this."

Reach Matthew Hansen at 473-7245 or mhansen@journalstar.com.