Tuesday morning, the pro-life demonstrations conducted by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform were met with demonstrations by pro-choice groups and other students on campus. These students stood up to the demonstrators and held up signs pronouncing their right to choose.
This page believes that the response from both students and student groups is vital to creating and maintaining a healthy political discourse at Hopkins.
By engaging the protesters, these student groups encourage discussion of controversial and relevant ideas on campus. The arrival of the pro-life group to Homewood itself stimulates discussion, but without a public counter-protest there only arises a reinforcing dialogue between the pro-life visitors and passers-by who agree with them. By bringing the pro-choice speech into the public arena, the discussion becomes both more engaging and wide-reaching.
Equally important is the moderating influence that this engagement can exert on both sides of the debate. When the pro-life supporters are presented openly and directly with the views of their opponents, and vice-versa, they are more likely to recognize the views of their opponents and incorporate them in some logical way.
Although these benefits may be substantially mitigated for polarizing issues such as abortion, this page strongly supports establishing a clear precedent of Hopkins students organizing similar rebuttals in the face of future visiting protests. At the point where these protests must be allowed to happen because of free speech concerns, it is best that they are met with a strong response from student groups. This aids both of the camps involved and the Hopkins community as a whole.
