Like most field team members at Students for Life, I am no stranger to pushback and disrespect from those with opposing views. But while we expect this behavior from angry pro-choice students, it’s extremely disappointing to hear this from staff at public universities who should, at the very least, support the right to free speech.  
 
On Tuesday morning, I arrived at the campus of Valencia College in Florida prepared to set up the “Planned Parenthood Cemetery of Innocents” display, which features 1,102 pink crosses to represent the number of preborn babies killed by Planned Parenthood every day.
 
READ:  Planned Parenthood Gets a Pay Raise AGAIN, Reminding the GOP in Washington D.C. to DEFUND the Abortion Mega Vendor before It’s Too Late  

Before I finished setting up the table, I already had students coming up and engaging in dialogue. A few students even signed our petition to defund Planned Parenthood. But not long after, security guards came up and told me I could not have a table set up. 
 
I explained that SFLA had set up multiple times in that area on campus before with no issue, and that Florida law designates all outdoor areas of publics campuses as areas of free speech. The security guards insisted I needed to check in with various offices on campus to get approval to specifically have a table set up. I spent almost an hour going around to the different offices, attempting to resolve the issue while still standing firm on my right to free speech.  
 
The university staff insisted that while the university allows free speech activity, setting up a table requires permission 4 to 6 weeks in advance. But not a single staff member could show me this policy in writing. 

I reasonably explained that since all restrictions on free speech must be content-neutral, this policy should be written somewhere so I could see that it is applied fairly to all groups. But it seems that this policy is like the “right to abortion” in the Constitution — written in invisible ink! None of the 6 or more university staff members that were brought in to handle this situation (situation: one woman with a folding table) were able to show me this policy. 
 
I attempted to find a resolution, even offering to move to a different spot on campus, but the staff insisted that if I did not pack up the table, they would call the police.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new for pro-life groups. Both Students for Life staff and student groups experience this kind of free speech discrimination frequently. If you face discrimination for your pro-life beliefs on campus, please contact [email protected]