The Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association was unable to protest against Justice For All’s exhibit Wednesday and Thursday on the South Oval due to a restriction in the Student Code requiring certain paperwork.
Student Life denied the group’s ability to protest in response to complaints by Pro-Life Ambassadors, said Sandra Criswell, association co-president.
“Pro-Life called the police at least twice,” Criswell said. “The first two times the cops never talked to us, they just observed, and then finally a police officer approached us about someone having an air horn.”
It appeared that Criswell and the rest of the student group did not file the proper permit, university spokesman Chris Shilling said. The student group did fill out a permit, but it was the wrong form, Criswell said.
“They knew that we were there because of Justice For All, so I guess it was just confusion,” Criswell said. “We filed the tabling permit, but we didn’t realize we needed a separate protest permit.”
Typically, Student Affairs approves most permit requests, Shilling said.
“One of the most important goals of this university is to support freedom of speech in a peaceful manner,” Shilling said.
Registered student organizations wanting to hold a peaceful protest must register with the Student Affairs office by filling out a “Facility Use Request” at least five days prior to the event, according to Title 6 of the Student Code.
“The Student Code specifies advance notice about protests and demonstrations to ensure that we have resources on hand to preserve campus safety and to inform the university community,” Shilling said in an e-mail.
Student Life was unable to be reached for comment after three telephone calls and one in-person visit to the Student Life office.
Even though the Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association was unable to protest, individual students were still out on the South Oval making noise and expressing their disagreement with the display.
Justice For All’s anti-abortion exhibit was brought to campus by Pro-Life Ambassadors, an OU student organization. Justice For All aims to make abortion an unthinkable practice, according to its mission statement.
“We are trying to create dialogue on abortion with students around campus by using our different kiosks,” said Maureen McKinley, Justice For All logistics coordinator.
Lindsey Vandeventer, women’s and gender studies senior, expressed her distaste for the exhibit.
“This is a really conscious, violent act on their part to sell a certain variety of rhetoric,” Vandeventer said. “This imagery is violent imagery, and it’s specifically aimed at inciting a very emotional response in people.”
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mythman 1 year, 6 months ago
"However, it seems unreasonable to suggest that [the display] is emotionally harmful if that person doesn't believe that abortion is wrong."
If we display unsolicited graphic pictures of bypass surgery, tumor removal, a root canal or an autopsy, it would be emotionally harmful and exploitative, but that is not an argument that any of those things are wrong.
Sunsurge 1 year, 6 months ago
That abortion display was SO wrong. My little brother came to campus, who is EIGHT, and we had to take a whole other route, because of it. Try explaining those graphic images to a child. I understand the need to be seen, but at least have curtains around it.
You never know people's past. What they've been through, or what they've seen, and a mild, 'Graphic images ahead' that you have no way of avoiding is just wrong. It's not about whether you're pro-life or pro-choice. The method of showing to the public was wrong.
Chirpit 1 year, 6 months ago
I would like to point out that the Justice for All crew could not point out ONE Pro-Life Ambassador who was affiliated with OU in any way. Doesn't that mean they weren't there legally if they didn't have the constant presence of the people who invited them? The time I was there, on Wednesday, was from around 11:30am or about 1:00pm. The Pro-Life Ambassadors of OU are suspiciously SILENT when it comes to JFA.
pretty_proliferation 1 year, 6 months ago
I agree with Vandeventer, although I hate to say that rules are rules and they must be followed. It would've been preferential for Student Life to make W&GS Association aware that they would be unable to protest, or even just bring to their attention that the wrong form had been submitted.
mythman 1 year, 6 months ago
What paperwork did Justice For All have to fill out? Did they really fill it all out correctly? Was the person filling it out a student, or a professional on JfA's payroll? And if JfA is interested in dialogue, why would they call the cops on an opposing groups for technicalities?
MissPeaSoup 1 year, 6 months ago
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner. Mythman is right. If you research JFA's website, along with the websites of those who run it. You will find that they supply everything, they do everything in order to come to campus. They just need someone to 'invite' them.
I'd like to see what Jared Haines (the supposed sponsor who wasn't out there all that much) really gets out of this. If he truly believed in what JFA was doing, he would have been out there all day. The WGSSA and supporters were there all day, in between classes and even skipped classes because it's so important to them. But hey, no need to be involved when there are people paid to be there, right Jared??
moor4442 1 year, 6 months ago
I think calling this display "violent" is a bit ridiculous. Is it graphic? Yes. I am uncomfortable walking by it. However, it seems unreasonable to suggest that something is emotionally harmful if that person doesn't believe that abortion is wrong. Then it's just a kind of gross display. So if you're having emotional reactions to this display, then you're admitting that you feel kind of bad about abortion but want to ignore it. What does that say about you?
On another note, I can appreciate the frustration of the Women and Gender Studies majors, as I know from personal experience the frustration that comes with paperwork misunderstandings. And I agree, it may have been a little more in tune with the goal of discourse not to call the cops on them.
briareus 1 year, 6 months ago
The display is gross and should not be allowed, but the abortions shown in the photos are alright and should continue to be legal?
JosephusF 1 year, 6 months ago
Briareus: using your logic, other medical procedures that are "gross" should not be legal. Have you seen pictures of liposuction?
mkathryn 1 year, 6 months ago
What is this article even talking about? This was posted on Friday? Obviously, the idiot didn't find himself on the oval, because the protesters were there. Yet again, an absolutely pointless article by the Daily. This newspaper is seriously the worst consecutive failure that claimed to be journalism, ever.