The large pictures of aborted fetuses stood in stark contrast to the lively crowd of students who had gathered in anticipation of J. Cole at last Thursday’s Al Fresco event.
The group responsible for these gruesome images is a loosely organized coalition of local Christians calling themselves Project Truth.
The four members were passing out anti-abortion literature from the Human Life Alliance and were challenging passing students on their pro-choice stances.
“Our mission is to tell people that abortion is an act of violence that kills a baby,” said Don the group’s organizer, who did not wish to share his last name.
Don, like most people who turn their personal beliefs into public protests, believes the message of Project Truth is one of great importance which has had a measurable effect on young people.
He claims to have seen a women who, after being confronted by the images of early stage aborted fetuses , stated, “I never knew that’s what it looked like, if I had known, I never would have had an abortion.”
Whether these statements are true or not, the members of Project Truth were happy to discuss the issue with anyone who would slow down long enough to let them.
“Do people have the right to do whatever they want with their bodies?” asked Don, as he went on to equate the issue of abortion to that of the legalization and proliferation of drugs.
This is not the first organized religious protest to grace the Cal State East Bay campus.
Readers may have seen the “God loves you” people or the “God hates you” people standing outside the University Union in years past.
Many of these protesters believe that by sharing their message on a college campus, they can reach young sexually active students who are at a high risk of falling into a sinful lifestyle. Whatever their cause may be, such protestors remind us that our campus community is open to the public, where people are free to express their own opinions.