FORT MYERS, Fla. —  Employees at Florida Gulf Coast University are protesting a campus ban on Christmas decorations in common spaces.

The Staff Advisory Council voted on Monday to send university leaders a letter explaining employees' concerns.

The university administration said employees can decorate their desks but not common areas.

It also canceled a greeting card design contest and renamed a giving tree for needy preschoolers a "giving garden."

In a memo to faculty and staff last week, President Wilson Bradshaw said public institutions "often struggle with how best to observe the season in ways that honor and respect all traditions."