Imagine waking up to find that every trace of your campus advocacy — every flyer, diaper drive, video, trip vlog, and post supporting student parents and having meaningful conversations on campus — has vanished from the digital world. 

That’s what happened to Leos Protecting Life at the University of La Verne, California. Our Instagram account was suspended overnight. While being abruptly silenced as we were gaining more online traction was frustrating, what upset us the most was the complete lack of warning or explanation. As a student organization, we are known to hold civil dialogue as a core value, and it was precisely that spirit of open communication that was missing from Instagram’s actions. 

Since launching our account in 2024, we have built a vibrant, growing social media community. We’ve engaged peers, reached beyond our campus, collaborated with other student groups, placed third in Students for Life‘s 2025 National Leader’s Collective social media trend competition, earned a repost from Kristan Hawkins on our “All Human Life Matters” Campus Tour Reel, and, as far as we can tell, we captured the first Kristan-approved BeReal. 

The sole explanation Instagram offered regarding the suspension decision was a vague notification referencing “account integrity,” claiming we may have been associated with another account that violated community guidelines without naming the account, specifying the violation, or offering concrete details. Prior to the suspension, we had a grand total of zero community guidelines violations. This left us with no foundation to begin addressing the claim meaningfully, let alone knowing exactly what we were appealing. 

While we have not given up, we have created a new account to keep the momentum going (@leosprotectinglife). Thankfully, our Standing With You project’s account, the Leo Baby Pantry Project (@ulvleobabypantryproject), remains active. 

THE TIMELINE 

Our account was suspended on Monday, October 6. That same day, I reached out to our Regional Coordinator, Christian Alan, for help.

On October 7, I sent an initial inquiry to Instagram as club president from our club email and my student email. We bcc’d multiple Instagram email addresses to ensure the message reached all potentially relevant channels. We attempted to appeal, but were taken aback by Instagram’s mandatory request for a personal ID. 

On October 8, following a suggestion from Lydia Taylor Davis as a pro-life influencer, Leos Protecting Life’s Executive Board members sent additional emails from different accounts. We received no response. 

Between October 10 and 15, after days of silence and further research, we reluctantly submitted the requested ID. Although it felt inappropriate, we learned that Instagram applies this process universally, even for organizational accounts. I submitted my ID in good faith, hoping to verify our authenticity and recover the account. 

On October 17, we received notice that our appeal had been denied. The account was permanently disabled due to a “continued violation of community guidelines,” though no specific violation was ever identified. 

On October 18, we attempted to download our account data to at least preserve our content, but Instagram returned only our profile photo. Every post, caption, and video was gone. Additionally, I contacted Lydia again. She and the SFLA team was very helpful as we kept coordinating our joint efforts. 

On October 22, we reached out to our university’s Office of Student Engagement and Leadership to ask whether they could help verify our club’s legitimacy. The office was supportive and was willing to provide a formal letter affirming that Leos Protecting Life is a registered student organization at the University of La Verne, should Instagram require documentation. 

On November 2 and 10, I emailed Instagram again to no avail, expressing willingness to provide documentation if necessary and noting our concerns of censorship given Instagram’s ambiguous reasoning for the suspension and subsequent disabling. Here is a small excerpt from one of the emails: 

We have consistently adhered to Instagram’s policies and have used the platform to foster respectful dialogue and community engagement. The lack of transparency and the absence of any prior notice or opportunity to remedy alleged violations raise serious questions about procedural fairness and viewpoint neutrality — particularly given that we are a pro-life student organization.

While the situation is less than ideal, we are anything but deterred. It’s a chance to raise our voices for all students who have faced similar obstacles. We started from the ground up once and can certainly do it again.

Follow @leosprotectinglife on Instagram to support our mission.