The campus iPad ban that wasn't

What really happened at Princeton, Cornell and George Washington University

Apple (AAPL) public relations won't come out and say it publicly, but a story is making the rounds -- most prominently in the newly rebranded Bloomberg Businessweek -- that is driving them crazy.

According to numerous reports in print and online, three prominent American universities -- Princeton, Cornell and George Washington -- won't allow Apple's new iPad on their campuses. The Christian Science Monitor reported Princeton's action as an outright "ban," as if campus police were seizing any devices that crossed onto university property.

The problem, as Steve Wildstrom (formerly of BusinessWeek) points out in a blog entry posted Sunday (and e-mailed around on Monday by grateful Apple PR reps), none of this is true.

If you want to know what really happened -- and how the disinformation spread -- read Wildstrom's report here.

See also:

• Why Israel lifted its iPad ban

[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]