Questions Around Pro-Life Chalk Demonstration
This last week, the Students for Life organization at the University of Wyoming came together to draw pro-life sayings and images with chalk around Prexy’s that support pro-life themes in honor of “Pro-Life Chalk Day.” Some students walked around the chalk, in an attempt to avoid scuffing up the words, while others, presumedly part of the pro-choice crowd, returned later in the day to write over some of the artwork and erase certain wording to entertain pro-choice stances.
The whole occurrence brings to question, how do the students of the University of Wyoming feel about initially seeing these messages and seeing them defaced, and of course, what do students think about abortion?
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which gave the power of determining whether or not abortion should be legalized back to the states, there has been an increase in both pro-choice protests and an increase in members within the Students for Life of America organization nationally. According to studentsforlife.org, the Students for Life of America (SFLA) “proudly maintains a presence in 59% of traditional public colleges and universities”.
With this, there has been an increase in tension on campuses throughout the United States, with events that take place, such as the Prexy’s chalk and its desecration.
Bella Smith, a student at the University of Wyoming and McNair Scholar who is a pro-choice advocate, believes that “every woman has the right to make decisions regarding their own body and anything that is going on inside of it.” While she did not see the chalk before it was erased and had its wordage changed, she had this to say about the occurrence: “Being on a college campus, I think that everyone has the right to express what they believe. So what the [pro]lifers did with drawing on the sidewalks, I don’t disagree with.” She stated. “However, when doing something like that on an open-minded campus with different thinkers, you are opening yourself up to scrutiny in the sense that some people will disagree and will want to put their two cents in.”
From those interviewed at the University, it appears that there is a majority in favor of the First Amendment right to the freedom of speech, regardless of which side of the political spectrum one aligns with, especially in respect to the sensitive topic of abortion.
Bella also shared, however, that “by making [the chalk art] a public thing, art is interpretational, so other people will want to put their opinion in.”
Furthermore, Bella stated that she felt that it was hurtful for people to destroy other people’s things. Given it was on an open space and a college campus, she doesn’t think that “it is wrong for people to “kindly put their opinions on there. They didn’t have to deface it or destroy it.”
Another student, Breanna Bradburn, who carries conservative values but chooses to remain nonpartisan when it comes to pro-life and pro-choice titles, believes that “once you’re conceived, that’s a life, that’s a baby.”
She acknowledges that in some cases the baby may not be developing correctly or the mother may face health complications, leading Breanna to consider each situation individually.
Breanna had seen the chalk before it had been altered, and shared that she felt that “the person or group that had done it [the pro-life chalk messages] were brave for putting their opinions out there.”
With this, she also shared that with the First Amendment, we have to respect the opinions of others, prompting her to add, “I don’t think that people should be vandalizing another person’s beliefs… Whichever side you’re on, right or wrong, black or white, you shouldn’t be defacing anyone else’s work.”
While the stances on abortion widely vary across the university’s campus, one thing remains clear: students strongly believe that the First Amendment right to the freedom of speech should be upheld, whether that speech is through preserving the pro-life sidewalk art or allowing that art to be interpreted.
