Christian pro-life advocate Randall Terry paid a visit to Logan Hall yesterday in an effort to recruit Penn students to help "end legalized child killing."
Terry's name recently surfaced in the media as the spokesman for Terry Schaivo's family, but he is best known for founding Operation Rescue, the anti-abortion group responsible for staging hundreds of protests and sit-ins since its creation in 1987.
He has been arrested over 40 times.
The appearance was part of his 10-week campaign to drum up interest for Operation Rescue XX, a free, two-day convention for young pro-life leaders that will commemorate two decades of fighting to end abortion.
The event will take place in Philadelphia over Thanksgiving weekend.
"We trot around like gypsies for Jesus," Terry said. "It's my mission to recruit, train, and then fire into the enemy camp" young pro-life leaders.
Despite his strong rhetoric and controversial anti-abortion practices, however, his appearance only drew a handful of audience members.
According to Joseph Landry, a volunteer who is traveling around the country with Terry this fall, other schools have been more receptive to his visits than Penn.
While only about 15 students were present at the event, over 80 students showed up to Terry's Penn State visit, and he plans on returning to speak to almost 100 more.
"Our events are always hit or miss," said College sophomore Racquel Skold, president of Penn for Life, the student group that brought Terry to campus. "Anyone here is a success, and I learned something too."
The event was intended to raise awareness for the pro-life movement, although the audience was already largely sympathetic to the cause.
Shannon Martino, a fourth-year graduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences and a longtime member of Penn for Life, said that, although she was disappointed by the turnout at the event, it was interesting to see such a strongly Christian point of view represented.
"We haven't had that in recent years," Martino said. "Everyone has become uncomfortable talking about religion in public life."
