Anti-abortion display in public space at Pepperdine University covered over by abortion-rights supporters

The Pepperdine College Republicans (PCR) put up an anti-abortion display on a Freedom Wall, a public bulletin board on campus where students can post opinions. The display was covered up by signage and political messaging by abortion-rights students, prompting backlash from the PCR as well as an on-campus dispute.

Key Players

Pepperdine University is a private, Christian-based research university in Malibu, California, which had an enrollment of 9,554 students in 2021. 

The Pepperdine College Republicans is a student club that engages in local campaigning and Republican activism. The club also brings speakers to campus and hosts dialogues for students. 

Further Details

On Sept. 28, 2021, the PCR posted an anti-abortion display on Pepperdine’s so-called Freedom Wall, which included a number of black crosses cut from paper, a sign reading “LIVES TAKEN BY ABORTION SINCE ROE V WADE: 62 Million,” and a legend indicating that each black cross represented 100,000 abortions. 

The next morning, Ashtyn Adams, a senior majoring in religion, posted an abortion-rights sign on the Freedom Wall, next to the anti-abortion display. 

Later that day, students crowded around the wall to cover the anti-abortion display with more abortion-rights signage, including phrases such as “My Body My Choice,” “Vasectomies Prevent Abortions,” and “No Uterus No Opinion.” Some students also began to remove the black crosses from the wall. 

An argument broke out between PCR club members and abortion-rights students at the Freedom Wall. Eventually, Pepperdine Department of Public Safety officers were called to the scene to keep the crowd at bay, The Pepperdine Beacon reported. Videos and photos of students contending over the Freedom Wall were posted across social media.

According to the Pepperdine Student Organizations Handbook, the Freedom Wall is a platform to share views respectfully, responsibly, and freely. The handbook states that the wall may not be used by organizations for advertising. And while the PCR’s post was not an explicit club advertisement, the event created a dispute as to whether or not they were allowed to monopolize the Freedom Wall.

In an email to the Pepperdine University Graphic, PCR said the post was intended to act as a memorial and show the “magnitude of the atrocity” of abortion. 

“It’s unfortunate,” PCR continued, “that instead of engaging in respectful conversation, some on our campus decided to desecrate a memorial to 62 million aborted babies by obscuring our message with feminine hygiene products, by turning crosses upside down, tearing down crosses and resorting to tired slogans that are incapable of refuting the scientific and religious fact that a fetus — with its own beating heart, brain, nervous system, DNA, and soul — is a human life worthy of protection.”

Adams said she received numerous messages of support from students, but that while grateful, she did not intend to start a conflict, The Graphic reported. 

Outcome 

No direct action taken against students 

The university took no direct action against the PCR or the students that covered up the anti-abortion postings. 

On Oct. 2, 2021, Fox News published a statement from Pepperdine:

“Pepperdine University is committed to free, open, and respectful speech on our campus, a commitment that is rooted in our Christian mission and ethos. We affirm that truth has nothing to fear from investigation. Thus, we believe that public debate on topics important to a free society is enhanced when members of our community freely and respectfully express their viewpoints.”