A group of anti-abortion protestors named Project Truth, visited Las Positas College with posters and pamphlets depicting the “truth” of abortion from around 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 10, 11 and 12. The protesters handed out brochures and placed various signs featuring graphic images around the quad.
The protestors visiting campus has only made the controversy surrounding abortion more pressing under the Trump administration. The Department of Justice has officially dismissed a lawsuit that was brought up by the Biden administration against the state of Idaho for its abortion ban. This has paved the way for the ban to go into effect according to court records. Many are upset with this decision as Trump has solidified his threat to the access of abortion across the nation.
Project Truth visiting right after the news was passed on March 5, it only added to students being uncomfortable with their presence. The organization has visited over 200 college campuses, including Las Positas, in the past. They set up their banners for two days on each campus center to engage with the students.
At Las Positas, the group brought their displays to campus early on March 10 and engaged in conversation with anyone who passed their banners. Each member of the group had cameras strapped on their chest. They said they film their advocacy due to past experiences with physical altercations at other campuses.
“That is how people deal with these things, and we are bringing a very controversial issue and very controversial pictures that are going to trigger some of those things,” Project Truth member , William Tyndale, said. “But at the end of the day, we are hoping that people would say, ‘I never knew that that is what an abortion does,’ and that is where we actually help people.”
Tyndale explained that Las Positas has been one of the more hospitable campuses they have visited. He shared that they had received more discourse at Las Positas than they have had in a long time, as students were willing to engage in conversation with them even if they disagreed. Tyndale mentioned that some students would approach their booth yelling, appearing visibly upset — but that is as far as it went, no physical altercations occurred.
Farishta Dean, a student who visited the displays, shared, “I think this is a really great way to teach the people what we are doing with a human inside our bodies. I know they’re little, but they are human. They have a heartbeat, and we have to respect that.”
Sean Hutchinson, another student who had a brief conversation with a Project Truth member, said that he had no issue with the group expressing their opinions on campus. Hutchinson mentioned that they have the right to express their opinions, and the members of the group weren’t aggressive, so he had no problem with them being on campus.
While the protest remained calm, many students felt very uncomfortable with Project Truth’s presence on campus. Tori Carter, a student opposed to the group, shared how she was unhappy with how they operated on campus.
Carter explained she believes everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that the way the group was going about protesting was very “pushy.” She mentioned that during their conversation, an advocate repeatedly interrupted her, “twisting” her words in the process. Carter also expressed her worry for the middle-college students on campus as they are all still in high school.
“The fact that they even came on to a college campus where there are a bunch of impressionable minds felt like indoctrination. The entire situation just seemed ill-intentioned,” Carter said.
Another student, Lily Grace, who visited the display in the quad, expressed her discomfort at seeing such graphic images.
“I think this is ridiculous, and I think it is really graphic, and I also think it’s inaccurate because first-trimester babies are not that fully formed. So I think not only are they trying to push their beliefs in our faces, but also putting out fake information as well,” Grace said.
Many of the displays included imagery of what was described as first-trimester fetuses. Upon closer inspection, the imagery was indeed inaccurate to the term marked on the graphic. What was shown on the graphic was size inaccurate to the term labeled and looked more like an early second trimester fetus.
“People are also entitled to their own opinions, but that does not mean you need to shove your opinion in my face…with such a graphic image,” said Grace.
Many students mentioned being called names as they walked past the group’s displays. Students shared their experience not trying to start a conversation but then being called “heartless” or “psychopaths” for “not caring” about the issue. Members would stand outside the health center telling people that anyone who wanted to seek Plan B was a “murderer.”
While some felt that Project Truth’s presence on campus was not threatening and that it was their right to express their opinions, other students felt the protest’s methods weren’t inappropriate for a school setting.
***
TOP PHOTO: Refusing to give actual names, members of Project Truth stand in LPC’s quad with anti-abortion posters and rhetoric, March 10. Starting a dialogue —- some students passing through stopped to listen or debate with those with displays.
Angelina An is a staff writer for The Express. Follow her on X, formally Twitter, @angiebee_919
