On Tuesday, Nov. 29, the AU Students for Life organization hosted a display on the Flagpole Quad of approximately 1,600 different crosses to represent the number of lives lost to abortion each day.

According to the event organizer and Freshman Class President Teresa Overholser, the event was a “peaceful protest.”

The display was up from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. During this time, the event was met with pushback from the student body.

As a result, AU Student Senate held a lengthy discussion around the event during the senate’s regularly scheduled meeting. Students from both sides of the conversation joined in to express their concerns.

Sophomore Class President Skylar Phillians voiced her concerns with the various comparisons that have been made between Students for Life and other peace organizations on campus such as Eagles For Pride (EFP) and Ashland Center for Nonviolence (ACN).

“I feel like there was a lot of damage done [as a result] from the Students for Life, I feel like the group is spreading hate,” Phillians said during the Student Senate meeting Tuesday evening. “Organizations like EFP and ACN spread love, so the comparison isn’t fair. I don’t believe there was a positive motive behind the event.”

Other students in the discussion added that they felt the event brought about negative conversations and enabled the spread of hate, particularly online.

During the discussion, Overholser explained that the “intent was not to hurt” and that proper guidelines were followed to ensure that the event was permitted to take place, including a listing on Engage, however this listing has since been removed.

One student pointed out that the presence of the event was not “specifically apparent” and the “lack of awareness [surrounding the event] contributed to the pushback.”

A common denominator within the discussion was the social media platform, YikYak, which perpetuates anonymous discussion online.

Various posts included inappropriate remarks on abortion and threats to the event’s organizers.

“I am highly disappointed in the student body as a whole,” said Kyleen Culler, officer of Fraternity and Sorority Life. “It is possible to listen and disagree with someone respectfully.”

As the discussion went on, students argued that Ashland University would provide resistance to the development of an opposing organization to Students for Life. With the difficulty EFP faced with getting chartered on campus, students drew comparisons to the current situation.

In response, Anna Bielawski, officer of judicial affairs, stated that, “As a senate, you will not find a roadblock here.”

“We are here to fight for you so that you can express your voice and feel safe on this campus,” Bielawski added.

Although the discussion ended without a vote, Student Body President Tiffany Sims sent her appreciation to all those in attendance.

“It is an awesome thing to have discussions in a respectful manner with an understanding that discussions come from a place of compassion and respect,” Sims said. “It is a good thing to have disagreements. We are here to represent the student body with a very diverse group of opinions.”

Students for Life of America is a national organization and has become one of the leading pro-life advocacy organizations in the world. The organization houses groups on high school, college and graduate campuses.

According to Students for Life, the mission is to “Recruit, Train and Mobilize the Pro-Life Generation to Abolish Abortion.”