Planned Parenthood Not Welcome At Gu

A Gonzaga University student club that invited a speaker from Planned Parenthood to campus learned Wednesday that the university won’t allow the organization on school property.

The women’s studies club invited Laurel Kelley from Spokane Planned Parenthood to its weekly meeting.

Wednesday afternoon Kelley was called by a GU administrator who told her she couldn’t speak on campus Wednesday night.

Robin Moody, president of the club, said Kelley had been asked to speak about reproductive freedom, clinic bombings across the nation and the presidential election.

Club members and other students met at the Crosby Student Center to discuss the cancellation of the speaker. Peter Williams, associate dean of students, was given the job by administrators of calling the speaker and the students. He showed up at the meeting to relay the administration’s position.

He apologized for the eleventhhour cancellation, but said that the notes on classroom chalkboards announcing the meeting didn’t say who was sponsoring it, so he had a hard time tracking them down.

Williams, who has been associate dean of students only since January, apologized to the club for being the one who called Kelley. He also apologized to her.

Williams said the decision came straight from the university president, the Rev. Robert Spitzer, who said that under no circumstances would Planned Parenthood be welcome on campus.

Many students argued that the school was infringing on their academic freedom.

Mike Quieto, a theology major, said the Jesuits have a long tradition of taking on tough questions that perhaps the church won’t address. He said the school should allow students to hear all sides of an issue, so they can make up their own minds. Some students pointed out that Planned Parenthood offers many medical services and that discussing them doesn’t mean they are promoting, condoning or sanctioning abortion.

Other students backed Spitzer’s decision.

Connie Grumich said students would have to work with the school to make changes in policy, noting that in the past an attempt to distribute condoms on campus was stopped. “If I go to BYU, I don’t expect to be drinking on campus,” she said.

Williams said this is not the first time abortion rights has come up in his three-month tenure, and it is tough to deal with because the school’s mission statement leaves room for interpretation.

He said he is working with the administration to clarify its policies regarding clubs and all matters of student life. The gray area lies between being an educational institution and a Catholic one, Williams said.

Kelley, of Planned Parenthood, urged students to reschedule the discussion with her off-campus, Williams said.