Pro-Life Advertising Rejected by College Newspapers
For Immediate Release
September 22, 2009
PRO-LIFE ADVERTISING REJECTED BY COLLEGE NEWSPAPERS
Demonstrating that college student newspapers are not always the bastion of free speech they pride themselves on, two newspapers have rejected educational advertising placed by Pro-Life Wisconsin.
Those two newspapers are the UW-Oshkosh Advance Titan and the UW-Stevens Point Pointer. The advertising supplements are published by Minnesota-based Human Life Alliance.
The Pointer stated, “We have a policy against advertising topics which have a tendency to cause conflict, shame or controversy among the student body.” The Advance Titan gave the following reason for refusing the advertising, “While we don’t necessarily disagree with the message that you wish to promote, some of our readers might, and we don’t want to alienate our readership by appearing to choose sides in such a controversial argument.”
“This is censorship. It truly is,” said Virginia Zignego, communications director of Pro-Life Wisconsin. “Either they are ideologically opposed to the pro-life message, or they are too scared to run anything controversial. Whichever, it is insulting to the intelligence of college students.”
The Human Life Alliance inserts, placed by Pro-Life Wisconsin, were accepted by the Marquette University Tribune, the UW-Eau Claire Spectator, the UW-La Crosse Racquet and the UW-Whitewater Royal Purple newspapers.
The 12-page inserts, called icare…, are a gripping pro-life resource designed to educate young men and women about abortion and its consequences. The solid pro-life content in icare… challenges students to re-evaluate their opinions about abortion, premarital sex, and the humanity of the preborn child.
Contact : Peggy Hamill, State Director, (262) 796-1111, Cell (414) 416-0489
Or Virginia Zignego, Communications Director, (262) 796-1111, Cell (262) 370-3993