Earlier this year, Liberty University announced that it would not recognize its campus Democratic club because the national party's platform went against the school's moral principles and trotted out the head of the school's Student Government Association to explain the decision:
Matt Mihelic, President of the school's Student Government Association, spoke on behalf of the school and says the club's views were counter-intuitive to the mission of the school.
"The administration felt that the college democrats and who they supported did not coincide with the purposes of the university," said Mihelic.
Do you know what does "coincide with the purposes of the university"? Apparently, officially-sanctioned anti-choice rallies:
To represent those lives that have been lost to abortion since its legalization, a fourth of the Liberty student body wore black shirts to convocation, while the rest wore white.
The Liberty University Student Government Association (SGA) is speaking up for the unspoken this week by hosting the largest fully student-initiated Pro-Life conference to be held on a college campus.
In response to the 50 million lives that were ended before taking a first breath, students at Liberty felt called to take action and educate others on the significance of the tragedy in hopes that their generation will be the force to put an end to abortion in America.
“This is the first pro-life conference that Liberty has ever held and we are calling it R.O.S.E. (Reclaiming Other’s Sacred Existence) and we’ve got speakers from all over the country that are here to inspire us and tell us information that has been suppressed for the last 36 years,” said Liberty University Student Government president, Matt Mihelic.
The conference kicked off with Wednesday’s convocation dedicated to the pro-life cause featuring special guest Norma McCorvey, who was the plaintiff “Jane Roe” in the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court case of 1973 ... A short video clip of McCorvey’s testimony was shown followed by a standing ovation from the students for her transformed life and dedication to fight for the truth.
McCorvey was followed by an address delivered by Mathew D. Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law.
Staver, whose mother chose to give him life against her doctor’s recommendations to carry out an abortion, is very passionate about the issue. During his speech, he used a series of photographs of infants in the womb at different stages of a pregnancy to give evidence of human traits even as early as three weeks.
“The debate as to when life begins has been settled a long time ago within the medical and scientific world,” Staver said. “The debate today is no longer when life begins, but what value do we put on life.”
Mihelic declared that they have one simple goal: "we want to see the full-scale repeal of Roe v. Wade and the conclusion of the era of legal abortion in the United States, and we want to see this in our generation." And that mission was echoed throughout yesterday's event:
McCorvey was praised by university leaders, including Mat Staver, dean of LU’s law school, and SGA President Matthew Mihelic, the student who conceived the event.
“The student body of Liberty University stands with you and we have your back,” Mihelic said.
Last spring, Mihelic ran for student body president on the platform of unifying the student voice on abortion. Record numbers of students came out to vote, he said, and the conference is the culmination of his vision.
“We know we are the largest evangelical university in the world and we intend on using every ounce of that grassroots influence to stop this blight on American history,” Mihelic said in a news release. “Under our watch, our generation will fight with all our might to make abortion history.”
Staver, the keynote speaker, drew on personal experiences, Christian values and legal arguments to make the case for why abortion should be categorically illegal. He charted his transformation from a young, pro-choice preacher in the 1970s to the staunch anti-abortion advocate he is today.
“I was a pastor and I didn’t know anything about abortion,” Staver said. “I thought it was just a blob of cells … I would have said I’m pro-choice because I didn’t think it was a life.”
At the end of the talk, Staver rallied the students to be leaders in “restoring the culture of life” in America.
“If we don’t stand together for those most vulnerable and innocent children in our very midst, if we drive by an abortion clinic and never even realize the holocaust that’s taking place, then God help us, because all the other liberties we enjoy are illusory.”
The conference continues through the end of the week, featuring other speakers including Rep. Trent Franks and Clenard Childress, founder of BlackGenocide.org.
