Our Sidewalk Visits To Junior Highs, High Schools And Colleges Literature

No Discarded Literature At Modesto High

I started off the day by leafleting a parking lot directly across the street from Modesto High - approximately 100 cars. Then I stood at a corner crossing where I reached kids in three different directions. One young fellow asked the usual question about rape: "What can a girl do if she has been raped and is pregnant?" I told him she could always put the baby up for adoption. "What if she's so upset she doesn't know what to do?" he asked. "Nothing is worse than murdering her own child," I answered. The look he gave me said, "I agree with you."

I am noticing a difference in behavior of these kids from all the schools I visit. The last time I was there, no literature was thrown on the sidewalk, and I attributed that to the security standing by. This time there was no security nearby, no discarded literature and the kids were all respectful. I handed a packet to a teacher walking by and complimented her on the way the kids were behaving. Later I asked a teenage boy if the school administration puts a special emphasis on not littering. He said "no."

That afternoon I got a call from a boy saying, "Is this Voice For The Unborn? I don't appreciate you people putting this information on my son's car." The voice was obviously that of an adolescent boy, and I couldn't help laughing, telling him the voice was a teenager's voice. He then claimed he was his own mother. He mumbled something about somebody calling back later to complain. I told him he and his friends needed the information. It could save them a lot of trouble in the future.

(Modesto High is well covered by me. I make at least six visits a year to this school because of the unusual amount of school parking lots, distributing aproximately 2,000 plus packets of literature. Is there a connection between their growing good behavior and the amount and times of distribution?)


"Abortion Is No Laughing Matter"

Shirley and I drove to Oakdale, 20 minutes away from Modesto, a beautiful spring day. I had memories of our previous visit there when I was surrounded by school security, police, etc. trying to stop us from distributing literature, and I wondered what was going to happen this time. Shirley and I stood at opposite sides of the front of the school. Most of the kids were very respectful. one girl picked up a few discarded packets and handed them to me. There was one exception with regard to respect. I approached five girls standing by a car directly in front of the school. After I started to hand them the literature, one of the girls asked me, obviously insincerely: "Why do you think abortion is wrong?" "It's murder," I answered. God says it's wrong: Thou Shalt Not Kill." As she opened up the packet this same insincere girl began to make a joke at being shocked at the literature saying she didn't know whether she could stand looking at it. "Abortion Is No Laughing Matter," I said. Soon one of the security guards told them to move their car. Afterwards they passed Shirley distributing several yards away from me yelling from the car window: "We believe in abortion!!"

There was no trouble at all from any of the school authorities that day.


Five Hundred Feet Away From The School

I left my Modesto home a little earlier that day to reach about a block of parked students' cars at Manteca High School before the bell rang, not realizing I was reaching a few adults too.

I stood at a corner crossing distributing literature to kids coming from two different directions. Just about everyone was friendly. One girl lifted her thumbs in a gesture of support for pro-life. When I was almost through, a heavyset, middleaged woman parked her car right next to me holding the literature packet in her hand. I was already talking to a girl questioning her on the different exits, as I planned to return. "I don't think you should be giving this material to high school students." she began. "That's my personal opinion!!" "Distributing literature on the sidewalk is a right of free speech," I answered her. She turned toward the school entrance. I was fairly sure she was on her way to report me. As the kids had just about stopped coming out and I wanted to avoid a useless confrontation, I started back to my car, leafleting as I went. About midway in the block, I could her a woman's voice behind me: "Ma'am, can we speak to you?" she asked. I stopped immediately, turned around and was facing a man and a woman walking together toward me. The woman, who said she was the vice principal, asked me not to distribute literature there but to go 500 feet away which she said was a "new city regulation."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're wrong," I said. "This is the public sidewalk and my right of free speech applies here. I go to hundreds of schools, and many people think the public sidewalk is school property, but after I explain that it is a Constitutionally-protected place to distribute literature, they all back down, including the police. Would you like to see something form the Attorney General's office on my right to be here?" I asked."That would be interesting," she replied. I reached into my pocket for the Attorney General's statement and began to read it to her. At the words, "they are exercising their right of free speech," she interrupted me and asked if I couldn't do her a favor and go 500 feet away when I distribute literature. "I can't do that," I answered her. "Our work is too important!" "Well," she said, "what if the other side (pro-abortion) shows up and there is a confrontation?" "That has never happened and it never will happen," I answered her. "They are in the business of making money by killing babies. They have no idealism." As she left, I tried to give her a literature packet, and she refused to take it. If I had my doubts about her position, she made it crystal clear to me that she was pro-abortion.

In the middle of our conversation, the man who was otherwise silent, said he fought for the right of free speech. I assumed he may have been a war veteran or a sixties demonstrator.


That Doesn't Affect Me Personally

I approached Prescott Junior High - about a mile away from my Modesto home - and began to talk to two boys sitting on their bicycles waiting for kids to come out. I asked what grade they were in. One of them said, "I'm in the 9th." He willingly took the packet as I handed it to him. The other boy (wearing a sweat shirt with 666 emblazoned on the front) declined the offer of literature saying he wouldn't read it anyway. I told him abortion is a serious matter and that over 4,000 babies die every day, etc. "But That Doesn't Affect Me Personally" he answered.

"Don't you care about other people?" I asked. Again, he repeated that it doesn't affect him personally and that everyone has the right to choose. "You're absolutely right" I answered. "God gives us the right to choose between Heaven and Hell." I implied that having an abortion is going in the direction of Hell. I could see that bothered him a bit and said to him: "If there were a baby lying on the ground in front of us and someone came up with a knife to kill the baby, wouldn't you try to stop him?" "Sure I would," he answered. "Well, that's exactly what I do when I try to stop abortion. That baby in the womb is just as much alive as the one out of the womb."

After a few more exchanges back and forth, he finally said, "Well, I just want to say this: If the subject comes up again, I'll be on your side!" I was amazed at this kid's change in attitude and told him: "Hey, I admire your courage in admitting you were wrong." As I handed him the literature packet a second time, he took it and put it in his pocket as he rode away.


"Would They Really Give Me Permission?"

It was the last day of the semester at Modesto College East. I figured the students would be parking in the half-full parking lots - different from their usual parking spots, which would give the chance to reach new people. I parked my car in a parking lot (half full) and began leafleting on the street and some on the campus which I knew could get me in trouble with the college security - "but it's the last day of school", I thought to myself, "they may not bother me."

One young woman as I handed her the literature refused it saying she was pro-choice. She had such a nice, pleasant face that I looked at her and blurted out: "How can you be for killing babies? One day you'll be facing God on this. Abortion Is Murder!" "Would you be willing to adopt a baby?" she asked. "Listen," I answered, "there are thousands and thousands of couples across the country who are waiting to adopt babies." "Well," she said, "it's up to a woman to decide. It's her choice." "That word 'choice' is a euphemism," I said. "You mean pro-death." :The baby doesn't have a choice!" I called after her as she was walking away.

After leafleting about 200 cars, I decided to move my car to the opposite side of the school. When I just reached the 400 mark, I was confronted by a security guard, a young man in his late twenties pulling up in his car and calling out to me, "I see you're putting your material on the card. "Yes," I answered. "Have you asked permission at the school office?" he asked. "Would they really give me permission?" I asked, "or would I be talking to a pro-abortion person who would decide not to let me do it." "You know I'm a Christian too," he answered. "I agree with what you're doing, but the college rules are to clear this through the office. I told him that under the law - the First Amendment - we had the right to distribute materials anywhere, anytime and in any manner. "That's a right people have died for," I added. He finally admitted that there was a general rule at the college to stop people from distributing materials on the cars on the campus. By then another security car drove up with a woman in her late thirties. She said very little. Both security people were polite but firm in stopping me. I finally said I was about through for the day in any case and turned around to leave.