Pro-Palestine protesters vandalize pro-life display at Indiana school, students say: PHOTOS

Pro-life students are reporting that Pro-Palestine protesters vandalized their display at a public Indiana university in late March. 

Life Defenders and Law Students for Life organized a “Cemetery of Innocents” at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), where the two groups displayed 1,000 pink flags, with each flag standing for 2.3 unborn babies lost to abortion on a daily basis, according to a Collegiate Commons article written by Rachel Cooper, an editor for the paper and a Life Defenders member.

“I stand against abortion because I believe all humans are created equal regardless of their stage of development or abilities,” Caleb Manring, an IUPUI student and President of Life Defenders told Campus Reform. “Human life is valuable because we are created in the image of God. Every human born or unborn has the right to life and deserves the right to equal protection under the law.”

[RELATED: UCSD students hold ‘Vigil for Palestine’ to ‘Honor Our Martyrs’]

Pro-Palestine protestors vandalized the display, tearing up the groups’ flags, and chalking anti-Israel messages nearby, The Collegiate Commons claimed. 

The chalked messages included “Pro life but not brown life,” “Free Palestine,” and “Do you defend life in Gaza?” as seen from pictures obtained by Campus Reform. 

Manring described the disruption, telling Campus Reform: “Within 30 minutes of completing the setup, several protesters showed up and started chalking redirecting attention to Gaza. They also chalked several pro-choice slogans like ‘thank God 4 abortion’ and accusations against our group claiming we were ‘pro-white life only.’”

“We had 5 signs in the middle of the display explaining what the display was. Around lunch, all 5 were ripped up and thrown in a trash can nearby,” he continued. 

Manring reached out to campus police to report the incident, but “[s]o far the campus police have not taken any action,” he told Campus Reform. 

“It took eight of us about an hour and a half to complete the entire display, including flags and chalking. In the past students have screamed at us, knocked signs over, but this time, they stole [our] property,” Rachel Cooper told Campus Reform. 

[RELATED: Columbia University now offering abortion medication on campus]

“We all have our own personal beliefs on the Israel/Palestine Conflict, but none of that affects whether a baby’s life is valuable. These students manipulated our display, and tried to say that the cemetery was the ‘Gaza Graveyard’ which confused other students. They disrespected us as fellow students at IUPUI. It’s hard as a student when you know that only one opinion is respected, and that the campus really isn’t a ‘safe space,’” she continued. 

Cooper also said that, towards the end of the event, a student approached her and asked about the display. “As I explained it to him, he informed me that the display was harmful to women, and that ‘someone should tear it down.’ He told me that he was about to start ripping the flags up, before he saw me. I proceeded to argue with him for an entire hour, not being able to leave because I was afraid of what he would do,” she said. 

Campus Reform has reached out to Indiana University and the university’s campus police for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.