President of Students for Life speaks at USD’s campus

College Republicans invite Kristan Hawkins to USD

SPENCER BISPHAM / CONTRIBUTOR / THE USD VISTA

(CW: abortion) When Kristan Hawkins (she/her) arrived at USD’s campus in the middle of November, tensions were high. Founder of the organization Students for Life, Hawkins was invited by USD College Republicans to give a talk titled ‘The Future is Anti-Abortion’ in front of students and alumni. The school was a stop on her nationwide speaking tour, but her arrival on campus was also cause for other Toreros to protest against this event.

Hawkins began her speech by addressing some of the controversy surrounding the topic of abortion.

“Anytime you hear someone like me talking about the evil of abortion, we are talking about abortion, not individual people,” Hawkins said. “In the pro-life movement, we need to be clear about what our intentions are. We want to see an anti-abortion future, where abortion is made illegal and unthinkable. [It] is the greatest human rights injustice to ever exist.”

She went on to explain more about the reasoning behind her conviction. 

“It’s very simple, our arguments are very simple,” Hawkins said. “There is a human life, that human life has value, and all human life has value. That human being has equal value and dignity to you and I. Fundamentally, we all once were zygotes. If you have value now today, you had value then.”

During her speech, a group of student protesters surrounded the entrance to Maher Hall, led by the off-campus organization, USD Gender Equity and Sex Positivity Collective (GESP). The school’s administration was initially informed it would be a silent protest, but it very quickly turned the opposite. Students held signs that read phrases like ‘REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE’ or ‘BANS OFF OUR BODIES,’ while chants of a similar manner echoed throughout the plaza. Even before the event began, a significant number of Toreros were outside of Maher as Hawkins and her hosts posed in front of them for pictures.

One of GESP’s executive board members, Christina Ledford (she/they), gave some context as to why the group was there.

“We had quite a few people in attendance, probably around 70, maybe 80 folks there,” Ledford said. “It was really great seeing everybody there advocating for reproductive justice, especially on a Catholic campus. I don’t think we see enough of that. It’s really about bodily autonomy and the ability to make choices for themselves.” 

At around 8:15 p.m., the protesters moved from the front of Maher to the balcony right outside of Solomon Hall. USD Public Safety officers promptly removed them from the balcony but they maintained their presence in the courtyard, their chanting still audible inside the room.

Hawkins addressed the protesters at several points during her speech.

“Those who disagree with us have a right to be there,” Hawkins said. “Is it worth engaging with that crowd? I always engage. If you can’t engage in a way that’s calm, you shouldn’t engage.”

She also mentioned that at the beginning of the event, she invited some of the students outside in hopes they would come in and listen.

“I was outside trying to give some of the protesters the tickets,” Hawkins said. “Sadly, no one would come in and do a Q&A.”

Ledford, however, disagrees with Hawkins’ interpretation of events.

“A few people I know actually did take tickets,” Ledford said. “I saw her hand them to two people at the protest, some even went inside. Just one month before her stop at USD, students at Wellesley College in Massachusetts were upset when Hawkins was invited to share her views on their campus. 

This was not the first time she faced protesters. Just one month before her stop at USD, students at Wellesley College in Massachusetts were upset when Hawkins was invited to share her views on their campus.

When the event wrapped up, it began wrapping up, Hawkins was escorted through a separate exit by USD Public Safety as the protesters made their way back to the front of Maher.

It was there that several arguments broke out; those who came out of the event were confronted with the crowd of protesters who demanded justification for the event. Included in the exchanges were several non-students: community members and alumni who had come to see Hawkins’ presentation.

First-year student Claire Fernandez (she/her), didn’t agree with how the protesters went about confronting the other side.

“I find when people protest, and do it in a way where you’re saying ‘f*ck you’ and calling the speaker ‘fat and ugly’, it really turns off the other side to your point of view,” Fernandez said. “I feel like one of the biggest things with being a conservative on this campus is that you don’t want to interact, not only because you don’t know who will come at you but also because it’s better to show the more calm and collected side of conservatives.”

Sophia Romei (she/her), also in her first-year, was part of the GESP protest and had critiques for the event’s participants in turn. 

“Interactions between protesters and attendees got heated,” Romei said. “Both sides felt disrespected. The difference is that they’re acting victimized by our response to their event as if someone is fighting to take away their rights. It’s ironic.”

In the end, students on both sides of the issue dispersed, leaving a damage-free scene behind. Leadership from both USD College Republicans and USD Students for Life declined to comment directly on the events which transpired, while the former released a statement online. 

On Instagram, @usdrepublicans gave a summary of what happened.

“We were absolutely thrilled with the outcome of our event and it was such a success,” they wrote. “We have accomplished the following: made our voices heard on campus in hopes to apply pro-life values on our campus, sparked conversation and dialogue on abortion, [and] changed minds and influenced students to be more involved in the pro-life movement.”

They ended on a note of gratitude for the speaker as well as the event’s attendees.

“We are so proud of our members for showing up and we remain thankful USD was able to grant us this opportunity to host Kristan! USD College Republicans is proud to be anti-abortion!”

As of now, the University of San Diego has not released a statement on the speaking event, protest, or the student organizations involved. Despite rumblings of the story being picked up on a larger scale, the story has yet to receive attention from any local news outlets.