The following comes from an April 24 Life News article by Sarah Zagorski:
On April 21, the University of Southern California removed banners of 11-week old unborn babies only a few hours after Students for Life placed them on campus. The banners featured quotes from Mother Teresa like, “Life is a promise, fulfill it” and “at 8 weeks she began to hear … at 11 weeks every organ system was functioning.”
The former president of USC Students for Life group, Lisa Ebiner Gavit, was involved in the banner project and shared her disappointment with The College Fix. She said, “USC Students for Life was deeply disappointed by the actions of the USC administration … when they decided to remove our pro-life banners from campus,” she said. “Our student organization had gone through all the proper administrative channels to reserve the space and install the banners, and we were heartbroken to see that they were taken down after being up for only a few hours. They were supposed to stay up for two weeks. This shuttering of free speech is disappointing, to say the least.”
Gavit added that the banners were placed to advertise their end of the semester event, which was a baby shower for a local pregnancy resource center. She said it was aimed to “show pregnant women that abortion is not their only option.”
Jacob Ellenhorn, a student government senator and member of USC’s Republicans said he didn’t agree with the University’s decision to remove the banners. He said, “[Gavit] told me that the USC office that hung up the signs for her this morning took them down because they did not advertise a particular event or organization. This is strange because rainbow banners for gay pride were up on campus last semester and did not advertise an event or an organization. The same was true for banners hung up during black history month.”
This isn’t the first time a pro-life group has experienced unequal treatment on a college campus. In 2014, a pro-abortion feminist studies professor at University of California Santa Barbara attacked a young pro-life activist, stole and destroyed her sign, and encouraged a group of students to violence. The professor later apologized but was sentenced to three years probation and anger management.
Additionally, last year USC students vandalized a pro-life display created by their Students For Life club. The display featured white hearts and posters to remember all the babies lost since Roe vs. Wade.
NOT surprised at all!!! They don’t want to see or hear the truth ever.
Pray for them.
True Lizzy – you took the words right out of my mouth.
Few things terrify radical leftists in and out of the Church than the fear that traditional things may be more popular than they think and could even (gasp) grow more popular with time. If they believed Fr. Illo represented some irretrievable past, they would ignore him. But they don’t: they are afraid and their shrill babble betrays that fear. I’m sorry I live too far away.
Interesting that this occurred at USC, a private university! This type of discrimination is usually associated with the publicly supported colleges and universities. What are these people afraid of? Mother Theresa?
Probably had to make room for the graphic posters advertising for the annual ‘Ragonya Diatribes’ presentation by the Twysted Sisterhood; who use it as an example of what constitutes “Good Rape” – like when Chastity Bono was done by an older Dyke, and then ‘transformed; from the enlightening experience. Ahem.
BOB—-
When the Left decided to create a secular pulpit in the universities in the 60’s and 70’s, they invaded wherever possible—private or government schools. They aimed to be the thought police so that young people would be converted to the promotion of “abortion, acid (drugs) and amnesty” politics.
Sadly, this was simultaneous with the Catholic Church abandoning the Faith and the moral pulpit for Marxist politics called “social justice.” For the last fifty years, the Bishops have aligned themselves with the Left, the Democrats, the promoters of the Culture of Death.
OK, “USC Students for Life,” time to get tough. Challenge the signs being taken down.
Go to the media and tell everyone the kind of feminized, lefty-radical administration that they have there, with standards to protect only what they believe in. Don’t take the “private school” answer seriously; USC takes federal money in a good number of ways. They cannot treat your group in such a blatantly discriminatory manner.
Further, demand a debate, an open discussion of the “life versus free sex” issues. USC is not much of an academic school, but it could probably be shamed to give you a floor.
Most importantly, compare what happend to you with what happened at USSB. Show the similarities; no violence, but that was not the key offense; the denial of constitutional freedoms is what is the most important.
Don’t expect widespread student support, at least right away. But, keep up the fight. Ugly now, beautiful later; Jesus, and especially his Holy Mother, will surely notice. Everyone should pray for you.
The banners highlighted the profound truths of human life on a university campus where truths should be celebrated. These banners were legitimately placed by a recognized student group of USC. The leadership of this USC campus clearly didn’t want the truth to be proclaimed. It seems the leaders of USC would rather live a lie than reconcile their beliefs with the truth.