Article content continued

When classes began, we caught some people’s eyes. I was encouraged throughout the morning by the genuine interest and respect of my fellow students.

But beginning in the afternoon the mood turned. Employees from my university’s Diversity and Equity Office, an official administrative body whose mandate is the fair treatment of all students on campus, placed a sign on the walkway leading to our display. It read:“Warning: Anti-Choice display ahead.”

I was dumbfounded. Why was a warning needed? We were peaceful and polite. And why had this “non-partisan” office of my university referred to my group as “anti-choice” when the term that neutrally describes us, and how we describe ourselves, is pro-life? The DEO hangs posters across my campus insisting that students use “proper terms” when addressing the groups it explicitly supports, but went out of its way to apply a negatively torqued label to ours.

The sign from the DEO seemed to have the effect of enabling other students whose desire was not respectful dialogue to come out and harass us. Some came and began to pull out our flags, yelling profanities and insults. Others spit on our club banner and the flags.

Though intimidated, I and other LifeLink members stayed calm — as we’ve been trained — and tried to get our opponents to talk to us, but with little success. Special Constable Services were called. One of the male students damaging our display, quoted in our campus paper, excused his behaviour saying, “The officers are here (telling me) you have to respect their rights and I’m like … I don’t because frankly, this is harmful.”