Vita Clamantis president Robert Smith '14 said that the group wants to spur discussion about creating environments in which women do not feel pressured into having abortions.
"Each flag represents 100,000 abortions in the United States since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973," Smith said. "The way we view each flag is holistic. We are not only representing lives that have been lost but also the women who have had to make traumatic decisions."
Despite largely negative responses several displays were vandalized and one person drove a car over the lawn the group has also received some positive feedback, according to Smith.
"I was especially encouraged by a custodian," Smith said. "It felt gratifying to know that she thought it was something that needed to be said, and she was very moved by the display."
Father Jonathan Kalisch of the Aquinas House Catholic Student Center emphasized the importance of educating the community about abortion.
"I think showing the tragic results of the loss of life is something we all need to be aware of, as well as recognizing that people can take a different political stance," Kalisch said.
Across the street from the lawn, students hung white flags in a pro-choice demonstration to counter the Vita Clamantis display. Rather than serving as a confrontational statement, the counter-protest was intended to highlight a woman's right to choose, according to Callista Womick '13, one of the organizers.
"We wanted to provide an alternative lens through which to view the statistic that there have been 55.4 million abortions since 1973," Womick said. "Look at the 55.4 million number as opportunities women have had to exercise their constitutional right."
Like Vita Clamantis, the counter-protesters hoped their demonstration would encourage dialogue about the issue at hand, according to Womick.
The white flags were removed by Facilities, Operations and Management early Wednesday morning due to confusion about whether the group had acquired a permit, according to Womick. The counter-protest was reinstalled later in the afternoon.
About 85 students, including some involved with "The Vagina Monologues" and Women's Forum, were involved in organizing the counter-protest, according to Womick.
Some students complained that Vita Clamantis' display had received funding through the Council on Student Organizations despite its political nature, according to Womick, who is also a COSO representative.
"COSO was torn about it, but ultimately the majority of board members thought that freedom of speech should prevail, and I think that's why this proposal was able to pass, though it was a very close vote," Womick said.
COSO representative Will Hix '12 said he hoped the demonstration would promote healthy discourse.
"COSO strives to fund events that will allow organizations to have a voice and introduce active dialogue," Hix said in an email to The Dartmouth. "We recognize that this is a potentially contentious and polarizing issue."
It is rare for an event to create the level of interest and emotion that the Vita Clamantis display has, according to Hix.
Vita Clamantis members were inspired by similar events at Harvard and Yale Universities, according to Smith. The group had been planning the event since the end of Winter term.
In addition to the flag display, Vita Clamantis organized a discussion moderated by government professor Russell Muirhead. The forum, hosted in the Rockefeller Center, was attended by about 50 students.
At the discussion, Vita Clamantis members opened by apologizing to those who may have been offended by the display, saying that the protest was meant as a memorial rather than an accusation. Those involved emphasized their objective to create a stronger campus community that is willing and able to provide support to pregnant women, underlining the lack of facilities, childcare and housing provided by the College.
Students present also discussed the point at which a fetus can be considered a human being, the perceived religious overtones in Vita Clamantis' campus-wide email, the type of legal protection that should be offered to women and fetuses, sexual assault and fetus health.
Some attendees at the forum, however, said they felt that the imagery of a graveyard evoked by the "Cemetery of Innocents" did not facilitate productive dialogue.
