At least six students tried to stop Carleton Lifeline members from being seen by using umbrellas in the Unicentre atrium Nov. 3.
Among them were third-year students Alena Peters and Sarah McCue, who began blocking Lifeline members when they saw “triggering” images of abortion on members’ T-shirts and on pamphlets being distributed to students.
By blocking Lifeline members, Peters said they were sending a message to the group.
“I think it’s just really important, first of all, that they know that people aren’t happy with it on their campus, and that it’s offensive to so many not just women, but people,” Peters said.
Nicholas McLeod, Lifeline’s finance director, said they were “just handing out some literature in the atrium.”
“I felt upset that they would be trying to censor the point of view that we were trying to put forth . . . it’s also slightly unnerving when you have people standing around you right up next to you and following you around.”
McLeod said he thought the images were meant to cause a reaction.
“There are some atrocities that words cannot adequately convey, and abortion is one of those atrocities,” he said.
Peters argued the images were inappropriate and shouldn’t have been displayed on campus.
“If we’re here to study, [the images] shouldn’t be something that I should have to encounter on my way to class,” Peters said.
Peters said campus safety officers were present in the atrium.
“When folks did get into more heated yelling or debates, they would sort of move closer, but there was really no interaction with any of the folks in the atrium and the security officials,” she said.
McLeod said some Lifeline members told campus safety officers they felt harassed, but he was “disappointed” with campus safety’s response.
“The officer there refused to even address the situation,” he said.
Allan Burns, Carleton’s director of university safety, said he couldn’t comment on the specific situation because of Lifeline’s outstanding civil case.
“I can tell you in general, when we have a situation where there might be a conflict between a couple of groups, our role is to keep the peace and make sure that nobody gets injured, and that nobody commits any criminal acts,” Burns said.
“When we have a situation that may occur where we think there may be a conflict between groups, we’ll be there.”
McLeod said the incident blocked dialogue about the abortion debate.
“We tried to have some dialogue happening, but the aggressive and physical tactics which were being employed really did create a negative atmosphere,” he said.
Peters, on the other hand, said there needs to be more awareness about the debate to prevent conflict.
“I think we need to have a more organized counter for this and spread knowledge about how pro-choice includes pro-life, and how we can exist on the same campus without disrespecting each other like they have been,” she said.
– with files from Marina Von Stackelberg