Controversy has found its home at UNM more than usual this academic year, and things are about to get interesting again this week.
A debate that has fragmented this nation for the decades will be imposing itself on the campus.
It likely will be difficult to avoid an 18-foot tall anti-abortion display organized by Justice For All, Inc., that will be on campus from Monday through Thursday. As to be expected, the displays are incredibly graphic and play on emotions while illustrating the gruesome side of abortions.
Pro-choice advocates have already organized daily protests of the exhibit, which will surely come complete with calls to kick the pro-life contingent off campus.
Thankfully, the University has recognized that it is a state insitution that must remain a marketplace for all ideas and cannot close its doors to controversial thought. Yes, the exhibits could be considerably more tasteful, but anti-abortion proponents have a right to choose whatever non-violent means they see fit to prove their point.
Hopefully, the UNM community can accept the same idea and take advantage of this exhibit as an opportunity for debate and discussion, not a source of outrage. I encourage those who have a reaction to the exhibit to write letters to the editor and start conversations with their peers about the subject. This sort of response tends to be natural and is a really positive way to make the most of the college experience.
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Appeasing both sides in an abortion debate seems comparable to answering age-old questions about ending violence in the Middle East. It isn't going to happen over night, but if we invite dialogue and embrace each other's differences, we will go a long way toward peaceful coexistance.
Iliana Lim¢n
Editor in chief
