A pro-life University of Idaho student recently saw her blog post removed by the campus Women’s Center because it supposedly conflicted with the center’s “fundamental principles.”
Campus Reform reports Students for Life student leader Victoria Diloné’s blog post eventually was republished, but the matter exposed continuing concerns about campus censorship of pro-life and conservative viewpoints.
Diloné, who is an intern at the Women’s Center, wrote the blog post about eugenics, Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger and hormonal birth control. She recently posted her essay on the center’s blog after a student editor approved it.
Soon afterward, center director Lysa Salsbury wrote an email to Diloné saying that her blog post would be removed, according to Students for Life.
“On more than one occasion, your personal views have been in direct conflict with one of the fundamental principles and tenets of feminism—that of choice,” Salsbury wrote. “Your article is not only not congruent with the Women’s Center’s views on the topic, it directly challenges them. As such, we cannot publish it. I’m sorry.”
Diloné said she was surprised, especially because she had not hidden her pro-life views when she applied for the internship. What’s more, she said Salsbury encouraged her to apply.
“When I applied to the Center, I was upfront that I was active in the Students for Life group, and no one raised an issue then,” she told Students for Life. “It’s unfortunate that the Women’s Center has decided that feminism means we can’t debate issues like birth control or how to best help women. I will continue to share my beliefs and won’t be intimidated.”
She said Salsbury also prohibited her from writing about pro-life pregnancy centers and diversity within the pro-life movement.
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Students for Life contacted the university about the problem, and eventually Diloné’s post reappeared on the blog.
Here’s more from Campus Reform:
In a statement to Campus Reform on Wednesday, the University of Idaho changed its tune, apologized to Diloné, and promised to make a better effort to support and encourage the free speech and expression of its students.
“On Nov. 20 the Women’s Center removed an article from its blog. This was wrong,” university spokeswoman Jodi Walker said. “This blog should have allowed the free expression of student opinion. The university apologizes to the student, has reinstated the post and resolves to do better. The university values free speech and recognizes the importance of respectful discourse.”
The incident sparked an initiative by the university to review the operations of the Women’s Center, specifically its blog.
“The handling of this blog has brought to the university’s attention a need to re-evaluate how the Women’s Center, as part of the University of Idaho, manages its blog site. The issues discussed on this site are important. They are also personal and can evoke emotions that can be challenging in productive public discourse,” Walker told Campus Reform.
Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, criticized the Women’s Center for not being more open-minded. University women’s centers almost always are pro-abortion. Some are taxpayer funded as well.
“Mainstream feminism is broken and is antithetical to supporting women,” Hawkins said. “Even though it’s 2018, the Women’s Center director has a 1984 mindset when it comes to free-expression.”
