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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 MARSHALLPARTHENON.COM
Protest cont. from P1
The organization frequently visits university campuses and high schools to attempt to change students’ minds. The group’s social media often boasts of the number of student’s minds they changed that day. According to its Instagram account, 10 people changed their mind at the University of Cincinnati when they visited on September 17. Created Equal refers to these trips as “justice rides,” which the group says were inspired by the Freedom Rides of the early 1960s during the Civil Rights Era. Lexie Hall, an external affairs assistant for Created Equal, was the only individual from the organization with whom The Parthenon was allowed to formally speak. Hall said the organization wishes to engage in “genuine conversations with those who agree and disagree.” Created Equal desires to make abortion completely illegal, not just increase legal restrictions on who may receive an abortion and when. The Parthenon also found instances of the organization’s social media page calling those who have received an abortion “domestic terrorists.” Hall agreed that the photos were graphic and potentially disturbing, but believes the ends justify the means. “We’ve done outreaches in different ways and found this to be the most effective in changing people’s minds on abortion,” Hall said. Hall said that their organization had “nothing to do with politics,” and another member of the organization who
visited campus said that Created Equal wasn’t a religious or political organization. However, the organization posts religious material on their social media. Hall also mentioned how members of the group consider themselves missionaries, whose main desire is to change culture, not politics. The Justice Rides website also says, “through conversation, we save the lives of preborn children and share the healing message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with men and women in pain from previous abortions.”
The website also states the organization does not stage demonstrations in areas frequented by children to avoid potentially traumatizing them with graphic photos. However, the group frequently visits downtown squares and high schools. The website says, “When weighing the feelings of born children against the lives of preborn children, the latter should be the priority.” As Marshall is a public university, administrators could not prohibit groups like Created Equal from visiting campus, even if they are controversial or use methodology that is deemed graphic. Abortion has recently resurfaced as a current issue, with Texas passing legislation that makes it illegal to receive an abortion after six weeks. That law makes no exceptions for rape or incest, a measure that Created Equal says it supports.
Tyler Kennett | Sports Editor
New College of Business Confirms 4th Ave. Home By CONNOR WOODRUFF REPORTER
Marshall University’s new college of business’ location has officially been designated to the block of 1400 4th Ave., once again widening the university’s footprint in Huntington. The Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation will begin construction in early 2022, planning to be open for students and practice in Spring, 2024, according to Archambault. The university’s multimillion-dollar project to develop a new building for the school of business will accommodate students, virtual or in-person, with spaces and tools for collaboration and activities. “Through the technology and the rooms, we’ll make them more capable of going virtual,” Dr. Jeff Archambault, associate dean of the school
of business, said. “We are really building in more student space. I think the faculty’s office space will be much more accessible to everybody.” The new space will feature a large public forum space, classrooms, computer labs, and a 360-seat auditorium funded via a $1.8 million donation from the Encova Foundation of West Virginia. The new location will extend Marshall’s recourses and influence, using the entirety of the block’s space. “We’re really trying to coordinate, develop business down the corridor there,” Archambault said. “Hope that expands out and connects downtown to Marshall.” The project will serve on the location of the retired “Flats” apartment complex.
The new building is being constructed with funds gathered from a variety of donations and other school recourses. Particular star donators are Brad and Alys Smith, whose $25 million donation has played a big role in the building’s construction, so the facility will be named after Brad Smith. Construction of the new facility will be left to Fairmount Properties, based in Ohio. Conner Woodruff, woodruff9@marshall.edu
PAGE EDITED AND DESIGNED BY MADISON PERDUE| PERDUE118@MARSHALL.EDU
