On Monday, March 24, and Tuesday, March 25, a group calling itself the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform installed a display on campus between Schilletter and Vickery. This display features graphic images of fetal tissue, as well as images of Holocaust victims, African American lynching victims, Rwandan genocide victims and massacred Native Americans. Free speech is vital to the life of any college campus. However, the nature of these images is such that several Clemson students have told me that they were traumatized to the degree that they were unable to attend class that day. Also, students have pointed out to me that students who live in Smith and Mauldin Hall are confronted with this display when they look out the window of their rooms or walk out the front door of their residence halls. If I were paying to live in one of these residence halls, I would feel that Clemson had failed me.

I know that one of the pillars of Clemson Elevate is to deliver the No. 1 student experience. I think it is safe to say that this display in this location had a negative impact on the experience of many students. If this organization continues its annual visits to Clemson, I would encourage a message from the administration in advance, informing students of this display so they can avoid the area if they are able to and wish to.

Finally, I know that the question of time, place and manner for various activities on campuses across the United States has been a topic of interest in recent months, especially as it relates to student protests of U.S. involvement in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. I am by no means an expert on the laws or on Clemson’s policies governing where, when and how demonstrations can take place. However, this organization is an outside group that requires university permission for their display, and it would be in the best interests of Clemson students if this display were moved to a less central location in the future.

More generally, moving forward, I hope that Clemson’s administration makes the mental health and welfare of its students a higher priority. When outside groups prevent students from coming to class, students can’t learn, teachers can’t teach and a university stops being a university.

— Jonathan Beecher Field, Associate Professor, Department of English

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