Freshman Aaron Josephson was heading to his room Wednesday afternoon when he walked through the EMU and was confronted with graphic images of aborted fetuses.
“I want to puke,” he said.
Survivors, a Christian anti-abortion organization designed to educate high school and college students about abortion, arrived at the University on Wednesday morning with posters depicting the fetuses. Survivors challenges every person born after 1972 to consider themselves a survivor of the “Abortion Holocaust,” something members of the group claim is the greatest Holocaust in world history.
Dan McCullough, director of the California-based group, said the point of the program is to appear at colleges and high schools with a pro-life message — even though it meant showing the posters.
“We are simply using images to show abortion is wrong,” he said. “Our message is that abortion is the murder of an innocent child and it needs to stop.” McCullough added that females in the group had experienced abortions in their past.
Survivors arrived at the University without talking to the scheduling office or getting a permit for the event. The University requires anyone using its property to get permission in advance. Without permission, the members were forced to physically hold up each poster, so that the displays weren’t resting on the ground of the EMU.
“That’s some crazy campus policy,” McCullough said in response to the permit issue.
Josephson wasn’t the only student who showed disgust at the giant posters, some of which depicted eighth-month aborted fetus heads and compared abortions to the Holocaust.
Counterprotests and ASUO posters sprouted up as soon as Students for Choice learned about the images being shown to students on campus. ASUO members created signs warning students about graphic signs in the EMU, while SFC members rented the free speech microphone and read facts about abortion from Planned Parenthood on the EMU Amphitheater stage.
ASUO President Rachel Pilliod also stood in the amphitheater and apologized to passing students for the gruesome photos.
“Unfortunately, some folks have come to campus … and they aren’t giving us a choice to view (the posters),” she said, adding that students should, “try to ward (students) off so they don’t have to see these things.”
A table also was set up on the stage of the amphitheater with pamphlets about Project Saferide, the counseling center and safe sex.
Students from across campus came to the EMU to express their disgust at the posters. Freshman Spencer Hardy said he thought they were ridiculous.
“It’s a gross exaggeration of a worst-case scenario,” he said.
Sarah Koski, a member of SFC, said this week is National Holocaust Remembrance Week, which made Survivors even more offensive to her. She said the reason SFC was also in the EMU was to dispense facts about abortion — in contrast to simply showing grotesque pictures.
“We’re worried about women who’ve already had abortions seeing these posters and having a negative mental reaction,” she said. “SFC is a free-speech organization, and we believe in the importance of choice and what women need and have the right to use.”

The Department of Public Safety also came to the amphitheater. DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks said the reason for public safety’s presence was to keep peace between the two groups.
“Our role is to allow opposing viewpoints to be presented in a civil manner,” he said.
After leaving the University, members of Survivors made their way to South Eugene High School. Arriving at 3 p.m., the group set up the posters outside of the schools exits. As students left the school, they said comments such as, “Eww” and “I don’t want to look at that.”
College Democrats co-Chairman Mike Linman helped the SFC erect the table and microphone in the amphitheater and said the reason for the quick opposition to Survivors was because the ASUO wanted to make sure students had the opportunity to get more information.
ASUO President-elect Maddy Melton agreed with Linman, saying that while she felt people have a right to free speech, Survivors was imposing on students’ academics with the distraction of the graphic pictures.
“They are a gross misrepresentation of abortions,” she said. “It’s just a scare tactic.”