By Jake Fain
Staff Writer
300 crosses stand in front of Miller Tower. Each cross represents 10 of the 3,300 performed abortions each day in the United States.
On the evening of Nov. 4, the new campus group known as Life 139 set up 330 white crosses in the grassy area between Jennings Hall and the Carl Grant Events Center, the area reserved for the new library.
Each individual cross represented 10 of the 3,300 abortions that take place every day in the United States. The crosses were removed Saturday.
Life 139, founded last spring, is made up of students who oppose abortion.
Ashley Reed, sophomore nursing major and psychology minor, is Life 139’s vice president.
“Yes we are pro-life and do not support abortion, but we also want to take a non-judgmental approach,” Reed said.
A secondary priority is the group’s support of Birth Choice, a pregnancy resource clinic at 391 Wallace Road in Jackson that offers ultrasounds, counseling and pregnancy and maternity resources.
“We are not affiliated with Birth Choice, but they do have the same goals that we do,” Reed said.
As vice president, it is Reed’s responsibility to work with administration to ensure that anything the organization takes part in is within the guidelines of campus rules. This representational “cemetery” was Life 139’s first official project. The group calls the project “The Cemetery of The Innocents.”
The act of setting up the crosses is a common practice among pro-life groups. New Way Christian Ministries, a Baptist church in Trenton, provided the crosses, which are roughly 2 feet long and painted white to represent the innocence of each aborted child.
Members of the group understand that not every observer will know what the display represents and do not want it to be confused with an art student’s three-dimensional art project. To help observers understand its meaning, administration allowed Life 139 to post a sign.
“This gives people a visual representation of how many lives are needlessly ended every day,” Reed said. “We hope that it will strike some emotional resonance with students and faculty.”
Life 139 also seeks to educate its members about what it means to be pro-life or pro-choice.
“We discuss why you would want to be pro-life and what the response can be to pro-life and pro-choice arguments,” Reed said. “We want to be able to answer any and all questions concerning the pro-life choice debate at its core, biologically and philosophically.”
Life 139 also is looking for more members. Right now the group has 12 to 15 members.
Melody Kramer, sophomore nursing major and Spanish minor, is president.
“We are primarily made up of biology and nursing majors, and we would like to expand into other branches of the student body,” Kramer said, adding that anyone is welcome to join.
