In the Oct. 12 edition of the Tribune, Patti Murphy wrote a column called "'Shock value' of abortion display said perturbing" concerning the crosses in front of Lalumiere. She claimed the display was an offensive attempt at "shock value." In fact, while she seems to feel that pro-life students are radicals or extremists, her points can be countered by rational argument.

Murphy warned readers not to "think it's a coincidence this display resided on a college campus." College campuses are not the only places where this type of display is set up to raise awareness about abortion. Crosses can also be found at many churches and other places that espouse Catholic beliefs. A college campus is supposed to be an open forum for many forms of discourse. If pro-life discussions can't be held on campus, where should they be allowed? Also, according to an article entitled "The Right's New Wing" by John Cloud in the Aug. 30 Time Magazine, college students have become more conservative in recent years. With more conservatives, there will be more people who are likely to oppose abortion.

Murphy wrote "the group behind this has called you a murderer in the name of righteous Christian action" and "the display was nothing more than shock value." Nowhere did the display refer to anyone as murderers. One sign simply asserted a fact — 3,600 children are killed each day by abortion. Anyone who is shocked by that can check the Center For Disease Control Web site. The CDC keeps statistics on abortion. A second sign was even less judgmental — it told passersby "Jesus forgives and heals."

Another problem Murphy found with the display is that "77 percent of all pro-life activists are male." First of all, this makes what seems to be a rather sexist assumption that men should not be allowed to make moral judgments on the issue. Secondly, Murphy's source for that number came from the Pro-Choice Public Education Project. It is not proper journalism to rely on opposing sources to get information about a group. She could have looked to a non-partisan or pro-life source to see what the other side says. Third, regardless of what gender the majority of pro-life activists are, a photo of the Marquette students who set up the crosses shows that nearly three quarters of the participants were female.

One of the most telling comments Murphy made was when she wrote "I believe you can feel however you want about abortion." I'm glad she is willing to cede at least that much to people who disagree with her. Apparently she just doesn't want them to be allowed to express their opinion.

Morey is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences.

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