'Gag Rule' doll reported stolen

The life-size blowup doll used in a Princeton Pro-Choice Vox (PPCV) demonstration last week has been reported as stolen from Frist North Lawn, Public Safety Sergeant Kenneth Samuel confirmed yesterday. An undergraduate reported the doll as missing Friday at 11:48 a.m.

A statement from PPCV spokeswoman Sara Viola '08 stated, "We're saddened that someone stole the key prop in our display. Whatever differences of opinion we face here at Princeton, we must resolve them through discussion, rather than vandalism or theft."

Samuel said Public Safety has yet to investigate. "Our investigators are off on Sundays, so tomorrow morning detective [Charles] Peters will be looking into this," he said last night.

The doll was a part of PPCV's protest against the Mexico City Policy, also sometimes known as the "Global Gag Rule." The policy stipulates that foreign nongovernmental organizations cannot receive U.S. aid if they support abortions as a valid form of family planning.

PPCV began its protest last Monday, placing the lingerie-clad, bound and gagged doll in a chair next to a sign that read, "Think this is dirty? Learn about the Global Gag Rule."

Since then, other students have expressed disapproval of PPCV's tactics, with some critics starting a facebook.com group titled "Students Taking On Public Pornography at Princeton."

"We would like to unite the student body to petition the University about this display and to overturn the policies allowing its continued existence," founder Lester Mackey '07 wrote in the group's description.

Cody May '07, a member of the Facebook group, said it is inapproriate to use provocative images to attract public attention."Hanging dead bodies north of Frist would have gotten people's attention, as well," he wrote in an email.

Support nonprofit student journalism. Donate to the ‘Prince’. Donate now »

Some opponents of the display phrased their objections in moral terms. "Such images drive us to lustful thoughts and fuel our desires for immoral behavior," Josh Hieronymus '07 wrote in a posting on the Facebook group's wall. "They desensitize us to a variety of evils, and they don't belong on our campus." Others in the group said the display was inappropriate since children visit the campus.

Both May and Hieronymus said they were unaware of who took the doll or its current whereabouts.

To set up a public display in Frist Campus Center or on the North Lawn, students must first get approval from the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students.

"We went through all of the necessary procedural tasks, paperwork, etc.," Viola said in an email. "We had full permission from the University."

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

PPCV's statement added that the display was meant to "be provocative because it is profoundly offensive that women in poor countries are not receiving lifesaving information and services. While some Princetonians have expressed their outrage about the display, we think the Global Gag Rule is truly worthy of outrage," she said. "No campus display could ever be as offensive as the Global Gag Rule."

Many critics of the display argue that PPCV's approach was overly sensationalist. Christina Keddie '03, a member of the Facebook group, said in an email that the display failed to spark healthy dialogue.

"Instead of garnering real discussion about the policy, they caused a furor of debate over what constitutes public obscenity," Keddie said.