An unidentified person vandalized the Students for Life table during the Cerritos College Club Rush on Jan. 23.
Club representatives left their table unattended, to get lunch at around 12:15 p.m. when a female-appearing individual with dark hair in a black coat and sweatshirt scribbled on two of the club’s posters, a student services counselor who witnessed the event said.
“There’s forms at all these tables so it kind of looked like writing, but then it got sloppy,” the counselor continued, “It was so quick. They were probably at the booth for 10, 12, 15 seconds tops. I watched them disappear into the background.”
The club members notified Elizabeth Miller, dean of student services.
“It is completely unacceptable that anyone would do that to any club,” Dean Miller said, “If folks disagree they should stay and talk about it, not vandalize property.”
“We need to encourage people to debate, not vandalize.” She added.
Dean Miller will attempt to pull footage from the security cameras in the student center to identify the individual responsible then contact campus police.
She made it clear that if the student is caught, they will go through the campus disciplinary process.
Students for Life is a secular anti-abortion club focusing on education and activism. They offer help to pregnant students and young women by hosting diaper drives and other fundraisers, according to their FalconSync.
Their vandalized posters read: The Future is Anti-Abortion and I am the Post-Roe Generation, in reference to the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision. This now gives states the right to protect or ban abortion.
The marker bled through the posters and also damaged Autumn Whetsell’s heirloom serape.
The club’s vice-president said, “I was really disappointed about what happened to the signs. Those things can be fixed with paint, but with my great grandfather’s serape-that is something that cannot be undone. Yes, it is replaceable, but it doesn’t hold the same value anymore. I am saddened that I have to get rid of that serape.”
A serape is a traditional colorful cloth used as either a blanket or a cloak in Mexico.
“I felt safe here in this room,” Students for Life president Christabelle Garcia said, “We asked people around, but it happened so quick and they just saw people pass by so they don’t really know who it is.”
“I do have some thoughts of some people who have some hate towards me. Every time I’m tabling outside the library, they [dissenters] are always saying very bad words. It’s always the same faces.” Garcia recalled.
Whetsell shared that people often debate them. Some hurl insults at them, saying that they are disgusting human beings.
“We’re always respectful. If we’re going to have a debate, let’s keep it civil,” Whetsell added, “By doing what that person did, they stopped a conversation from being had.”
With limited security cameras in the student center and a vague description, it is unlikely that the individual will be found.
