Conflict follows display

The same images of mangled bodies and aborted fetuses that sparked heated debate outside Palmer Museum Monday caused discussion in front of Willard Building yesterday among demonstrators and passersby.

The images are part of a display presented by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. The display, which is a part of the Genocide Awareness Project, presents photographs of the Holocaust and violence against African Americans by the Ku Klux Klan and compares these injustices to the abortion situation in the United States. The display will be exhibited from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today in East Halls Quad, and it will be in the area for the rest of the week.

Luanda Johnson, president-elect of Black Caucus, said she saw the display yesterday and felt that the photograph of an African-American lynching victim was inappropriate.

"Abortion is an individual's decision," Johnson said. "Lynchings were not our choice."

People such as Johnson may find the display offensive, but the University has a commitment to allow debate and free speech about competing ideas, said James Stewart, vice provost for educational equity.

"This display is being mounted by an outside group, so the University doesn't have any direct involvement at all," Stewart added.

While he agrees with the anti-abortion stance, John Merschel (junior-human development and family studies) said he was offended by the graphic images and stopped to argue with the pro-life demonstrators.

"I don't disagree with what they're trying to get across -- it's the way they're doing it," Merschel said.

The display is not meant to offend students, but rather to open their eyes to the horrors of abortion, said Greg Cunningham, director of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform.

- Greg Cunningham, director of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform

Last night the display was placed across the street from Eisenhower Auditorium where Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel spoke to a sold-out crowd. The photos were highlighted by halogen spotlights. Tuvia Abramson, director of HILLEL: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, joined by other members of the University's Jewish community, covered the photos with his jacket while standing in front of the images.

"This is an unacceptable use of their political agenda to promote their ideology," Abramson said. "It takes a sick mind to use the Holocaust for one's agenda."

Cunningham, who tried to talk Abramson away from the display, was told by University Police Services that Abramson was not violating any Constitutional right by blocking the display.

"It would never occur to us to disrupt this Holocaust talk, and it saddens me that the sponsors of that event would disrupt our display," Cunningham said. "We're not disrupting them but respecting their right to be heard."

Not only could the images be unsettling to adults -- Merschel said he was concerned about young children seeing the graphic images openly on display when they were in front of Willard Building.

"You shouldn't be punishing a 5-year-old who drives by here with his mother and sees these pictures," he added.

Parents who pass with children can spot it quickly and avoid passing to prevent their children from seeing the images, Cunningham said.

Amy Singer (senior-history) said that as she witnessed the display, she was concerned about the effects the images of aborted fetuses might have on University women who have had abortions.

"I'm sure (a woman) would be upset, but I don't think she should feel badly -- especially if she made a responsible choice after lots of thought," Singer said.

But the display aims to make women feel negatively about abortions they have experienced, Cunningham said.

"We would hope that they feel remorseful. We hope that these pictures shock people out of their denial. The best anecdote for denial is reality -- and this reality is so vivid it's undeniable," Cunningham said. "This whole thing is about denial. You can deny the words, the arguments, but you can't deny or misunderstand these pictures quite so readily."

Women were not the only group targeted by the display -- men also need to carefully consider abortion decisions as well, Cunningham said.

"We hope this will make guys rethink their behavior and accept responsibility (for the pregnancy) instead of indirectly or directly telling their girlfriend to kill their babies," Cunningham said.

Several students passing the display did not agree with the comparison between the Holocaust and abortion.

"The only thing that would compare to the Holocaust is another holocaust," said Tamara Belgrade (freshman-business administration).

But genocide is often not recognized until many years after it has occurred, said Cunningham.

"It's easy to look back on someone else's Holocaust and say someone should have done something about this after the fact," Cunningham added. "We need to be concerned about genocide while it's happening and not 50 years later."

Collegian staff writer Brent F. England contributed to this article.