Missouri State University Students Vandalize Pro-Life Display
RARTL note: Below is the press release of Bears for Life on vandalism that occurred when a non-liberal student group voiced an opinion. For more information on how you can help balance the prevailing liberal lean, see the information following the article.
SPRINGFIELD, Missouri — Student vandals at Missouri State University wrecked a pro-life cross memorial on the school’s Blair-Shannon Lawn on Wednesday, October 1. Some students cheered from a nearby sidewalk as others deliberately stepped on the crosses.
Bears for Life (BFL), a student group that received assistance from the Leadership Institute (LI) in Arlington, Virginia, hosted the Graveyard of Innocents, a memorial of nearly 4,000 popsicle-stick crosses to represent the number of unborn babies killed by abortion each day.
One BFL volunteer who witnessed the incident captured some of the vandalism on video.
Phillip Gleeson, president of Bears for Life commented, “I was shocked by the immaturity and lack of respect displayed by some members of the pro-choice community at Missouri State University.”
When a BFL student leader confronted the vandals and asked them why they felt free to destroy a university-approved display, one replied, “It’s campus property; we can walk where we want.” The delinquents continued to trample the crosses as they left.
Another student, a member of the school’s bi-sexual, gay, and lesbian association, rode through the makeshift cemetery on his bike to further damage the memorial. He refused to comment on camera about his actions.
Jenny Newcomer, an active member of Bears for Life, said, “It’s just appalling how disrespectful people can be.”
Missouri State University initially opposed the Graveyard of Innocents event. School administrators claimed the popsicle sticks to be used in the memorial could damage the sprinkler irrigation system on the North Mall.
It took group members seven hours to dig holes in the parched ground of the lawn approved by the administration. The Leadership Institute provided the cooperating student organization with tools and popsicle sticks for their pro-life event.
Bears for Life is an independent, student group at Missouri State University which strives to educate students about the pro-life movement and the sanctity of life from birth to natural death. Several of the group’s members received activism, grassroots, and campaign training from LI.
Daniel Diaz, LI field representative for Missouri and Kansas, said, “The Leadership Institute provided Bears for Life with a box of materials for recruiting. Later this semester, LI will assist the group to bring a speaker to their campus through a donor-supported grant.”
The Leadership Institute’s Campus Leadership Program assists young, conservative activists in founding independent, student-led organizations and publications on college campuses across the nation. LI currently has 1,120 active and cooperating student groups and newspapers operating on campuses in all 50 states. These organizations work to bring a balanced political perspective to colleges and universities dominated by liberal ideology.
Students interested in starting a conservative group or campus newspaper should visit http://www.campusleadership.org. Please find additional information on the Leadership Institute’s website:http://www.leadershipinstitute.org.
To subscribe to the Leadership Institute’s RSS feed, visit http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/news/News.xml.
http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/News/?NR=859
