Anti-abortionists take
UH to court
Michael Ahlf
The Pro-Life Cougars organization is suing
our University. Why? Apparently, its proposed choice of site to put up
the gigantic, nauseating
anti-abortion display from Justice For
All was denied. It had wanted the place it put it up originally last March,
right in front of the library.
First of all, the area in front of the
library is the most traveled area on campus, especially now since the University
Center Satellite isn't in
service. Second, the Pro-Life Cougars
are loud and obnoxious about their points with the display, even when said
points have little to do
with reality. For those who missed my
column last March, you can find it at www.stp.uh.edu/vol66/125/opinion/oped2.html.
I think I have
them pegged: a group of people who want
attention, and lots of it. If being anti-abortion is a means to that end,
so much the better for them,
but another cause would serve just as
well.
However, the University has a right and
duty to protect all of its students, not just the select few loudmouths.
This is why we have
designated areas for assembly. Lynn Eusan
Park and the UC Patio, the sites UH proposed as alternatives, are not,
as the Pro-Life
Cougars' lawyer said, the "Siberia of
the campus." They are well-traveled areas, especially the patio, since
the Melcher building houses
more than just business classes, but classes
from all of our colleges. The patio is also even closer to the campus'
main food source, and
since getting people to throw up seems
to be the job of Justice For All, I can't imagine why it would turn it
down.
Meanwhile, the Pro-Life Cougars' Web site
(http://www.geocities.com/uhcougars4life/), to my dismay, didn't bother
to keep all the clippings
from last March's debate, even my column.
It kept its own photos, suitably clipped with subtitling that has very
little to do, it seems, with what
might actually be going on in the photo.
It also doesn't seem to have spent much time making the site look decent:
text runs over pictures,
the colors are glaring, the site has no
consistency from one page to the next ... it's a mess, not to mention downright
ugly. With the number
of technologically adept people on campus,
it should be able to find one to clean it up. If it really cared, that
is.
But at the end of the day, I have a feeling
the display will be back to campus. Whether it's at the patio or in front
of the library, I would hope
to see our local National Organization
for Women chapter and other protesters at the forefront. I can certainly
spare the time to show up if it
happens this semester, which I'm sure
it will. The Pro-Life Cougars will most likely want to get the display
up again — nothing like a bit of
vomit on the grass to help the cause.
However, the protests will go on, because
the Pro-Life Cougars and affiliates do not speak for most of America. When
they come, I'll be
right there, probably waving a "Right
to Lunch" sign.
Look Mom, I'm on television!
