Pro-Life Display Vandalized at George Washington University

On April 17, the George Washington University YAF Chapter was the victim of liberal intolerance. The YAF Chapter placed crosses into the grass on the mid-campus quad in memory of lives lost due to abortion. The students had reserved the space for the day and had permission from the university to display the crosses. 

Since many of the YAF Chapter students had classes, activities, and work, they left the display unattended but kept it monitored as best they could. Early in the morning, someone vandalized their sign that read, “In memory of the lives lost each year by abortion” to make it read, “In memory of the lives saved each year by abortion.” By noon, the sign had been ripped out of the ground and discarded into a nearby trashcan.

Later on in the day students found new signs displayed on the benches across from their memorial which read, “Instead of shaming women for getting abortions, educate them about contraception.” The University removed the signs since whoever put them up didn’t have the proper permission to do so.

GW YAF Chapter Chair, Emily Jashinsky, received a call from their adviser in the Center for Student Engagement who reassured her of their support for the display but that they had received a large volume of calls and emails about the display being “insensitive”. 

The students overheard various complaints about the display and rude comments such as, “Good, now abortions will be more affordable under Obamacare.” The GW YAF Chapter was also the subject of harassing and inappropriate tweets by GW students. 

This incident is not isolated; liberal intolerance toward free speech can be found on college campuses nationwide. Just last month a liberal professor attacked a student distributing pro-life literature at the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). The culture of intolerance against conservative opinions and students needs to be addressed by college administrators. It is important that students feel comfortable to voice their opinions and not be subject harassment because of their beliefs. We at Young America’s Foundation are proud of our GW Chapter and all of our conservative students who stand up to liberal intolerance on their campuses daily. 

Ashley Pratte is the Spokeswoman for Young America’s Foundation.