There is a rising “epidemic” of violence aimed at pro-life organizations on college campuses, according to Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life America.
Hawkins’ declaration came after a disturbing incident involving an out-of-control professor and students at Hunter College in New York City. On May 2, Students For Life hosted a table in a public space, offering literature about chemical abortions and the harmful effects of drugs.
Opposition Will Face Live Students
The New York PosAdjunct Professor Shellyne Rodriguez reportedly approached the students and cursed at them before swiping the literature and throwing it on the ground. The incident was captured on cellphone video.
Rodriguez, who used several expletives in his tirade, called the display “propaganda” and said it triggered his students. When Patrick Rubi, a student at Hunter College, said, “I’m sorry about that,” Rodriguez replied: “No, no. You can’t have a ****** baby! You don’t even know what it is. Get this **** out of here!”
The next day, when a New York Post The reporter approached Rodriguez for comment at his home, he came to the door with a machete and held it to his neck for a moment. After he and a cameraman left the building, he chased the men down the street with a machete. Rodriguez was subsequently fired by Hunter College.
“The The New York Post story is illustrative what the pro-life generation faces every day…unbridled, irrational, and aggressive opposition to pro-life free speech, including from school leaders across the country,” Hawkins said.
Aside from an angry professor, the Students for Life table at Hunter College also endured harassment from a female student, who stole one of their plastic fetal models and began chewing on it. Later, he returned the chewed-up model, painted red.
“He painted them red and called us fascists,” Rubi said Fox News.
Hawkins said events like this are emblematic of an epidemic of attacks against pro-life students in the United States. In the last school year, there were one-hundred attempts at discrimination and vandalism against the leaders of Students for Life, he said.
Hawkins called the attacks a violation of free speech and constitutional rights. Regarding the Hunter College attack, Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice criticized how the university moved slowly in the beginning.
“College is enough finished the teacher, but even they didn’t act until AFTER he threatened to kill a reporter,” Sekulow wrote. “When he harassed and assaulted the students, they seemed to shrug their shoulders. Even the teacher’s union weakly tried to defend the professor’s violent actions.”
In today’s post-Roe world, college campuses have become increasingly hostile to pro-life organizations. This trend, unfortunately, reflects our society as a whole, where pregnancy resource centers often face similar attacks. At Care Net, we pray that organizations like Students for Life will continue to boldly stand up for life on campus and promote pro-life policies in society. May their voices not be silenced, as they continue to speak the truth in love, even in the face of such fearful and oppressive opposition.
