Hawaii has one of the toughest anti-billboard laws in the country.

So a question posed about the legality of the sign on the lawn of Bachman Hall at the University of Hawaii at Manoa wasn?t unreasonable.

A protest over the politics of APEC and a small welcome sign that was erected drew enough interest to spur phone calls between various entities to clarify the issue.

A small band of protestors expressed their displeasure about the APEC sign on the lawn in front of Bachman Hall by marching across campus last week.

They collected about 200 signatures on a petition demanding its removal.

They disagree with the politics of APEC. They said it is bad for the world, while organizers said it is good for the economy.

But UH officials weren't about to take the sign down because of that.

UH spokeswoman Diane Chang told KITV Monday that the city considers the sign permissible as a special events sign, but under the law it has to be down in seven days.

Those who took part in the protest were elated at the news.

The sign was erected more than a month ago, and protestors said it was like it had become a fixture on the lawn.