Scottish Catholic Observer

The Strathclyde Students for Life group last year gained affiliation after threatening legal action, meaning they could acquire funding for university events.

However, the group said the student body confronted them at the fayre and demanded they remove their stall materials, which offered support to pregnant women.

A spokesperson for the student’s union said they asked the pro-life students to take down their materials after a student complained.

Equal treatment

Catherine Deighan, president of Strathclyde Students for Life, said: “It has taken several years for the Strathclyde Students for Life to affiliate officially at the University so for our first year coming to the fresher fayre we were fully expecting to come in and be treated equally. However, we weren’t provided with this courtesy.

“We were approached by a Student Association staff member who made us feel very intimidated and uneasy.

“He ordered us to take down our posters because he deemed them in violation of a new so-called pro-choice policy that the union had put in place. So, this meant taking down our posters with our society logo because he deemed it graphic. Our logo is the silhouette of a developed and grown baby.

“Being ordered to take down our materials meant we had no way to reach students we had nothing to show our Facebook page or phone number. We had no way to reach out at all.”

‘powerless’

She added the experience left them feeling ‘disenfranchised and powerless’ and that ‘if we said we were pro-life, this was in violation of their policy.’

Ms Deighan said: “The materials we had on the stall were supportive leaflets for students facing a crisis pregnancy. We had no graphic imagery whatsoever or any explicit content.”

Michael Robinson, director of communications and campaigns of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, called the move a ‘shameful attack on young students at the infancy of their university experience.’

‘Bullying’

He said: “The apparent bullying undertaken by staff is part of the continuous onslaught to stifle freedom of speech and stamp out any semblance of a pro-life voice on campus.”

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley condemned the situation and called on the Student Association to change their policy.

He said: “Sadly, Strathclyde University Students Association has a long and discreditable history of acting against pro-life students which shames the Association and, by implication, the University.

“I imagine the University itself must be frustrated and embarrassed that its student body cannot just live and let live the views of the very body of students they are elected to serve, and prefer to make them feel uneasy for holding positions that are wholly mainstream and reasonable.”

Pro-life policy

He added: “I urge the Student Association to revisit this policy, to treat all its students with due regard and to promote respect and coexistence.”

A spokesperson for the Strathclyde Students’ Union said: “Strathclyde Students for Life is a newly affiliated society and we will continue to work with this group, and all others, to help them translate student-led policies into operational practices.

“The Union is a safe space for all students, and after a fellow student made a complaint about the Strathclyde Students for Life use of graphic images, the society were asked not to display these, however, they were not asked to take down the stall.

“Strathclyde Students for Life are welcome to challenge policies, and submit their own, to keep the democratic processes active.”