Gettysburg College has established a “bias response team” after the Black Student Union threatened to hold a pro-life group accountable if the university ignored their demands.

The protest was organized in response to students in the school’s Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter who distributed flyers on campus promoting pro-life ideals. One of the posters displayed a picture of a black child with the words “Let’s talk about race… Abortion is the number one killer of black lives in the United States #blacklivesmatter.”

Protesters gathered Tuesday afternoon in a university common area, standing on top of desks and tables, speaking one by one in retaliation of YAF’s demonstration.

“The policing of women’s bodies stems from a legacy of hatred,” one protester shouted.

Protesters argued that the statistics presented by YAF, which claimed that black women have more abortions because of an unequal access to healthcare, were false and inaccurate.

“She was taught from young age that her blackness does not belong to her, that she must shrink herself inward and make room for them to enter; break into her. But they will not shipwreck the wild geography of her body, YAF will not shipwreck the wild geography of her body. Her name is black woman and if you get close enough, you can almost taste the blood from centuries of forced entries of bastard babies, but YAF is too busy trying to kick what has already been beaten. Maybe black woman should nail herself to her dart board just to give YAF the opportunity to aim somewhere other than her heart,” one protester shouted through the speakers in the school’s common area.

“Black woman: she is the measure of humanity,” he concluded.

The protest ended with one student addressing YAF directly saying that “if the school wouldn’t hold them accountable, [they] will.”

In a campus-wide email, Chief Diversity Officer Jeanne Arnold explained that the posters caused many students to feel “marginalized and misrepresented” and that the bias response team was established to work with the Student Life Committee to “review policies related to on-campus postings and bias.”

Although Arnold agreed it is important to foster dialogue about political and social issues, she claimed the posters have “perpetuated a chilly climate” not in line with the climate the “community seeks to uphold.”

YAF received scrutiny last fall for using posters that contained the phrase “anchor baby.” Following student outcry, Dean Julie Ramsey released a statement to students that her “campus is one that welcomes debate and discussion.”

Ramsey noted that although YAF’s opinions made some students “feel personally attacked, offended, or even unsafe,” as a liberal arts institution students could benefit from an “atmosphere that allows students to think critically, evaluate their own ideals, and the ideals of others.”

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