Tess Toldhwoss

Project Truth member “William Wilberforce” (left) faces SRJC Student Brady Allen (right), as Allen holds a large hand-made sign.

Controversy returned to Bertolini Quad Tuesday and Wednesday as anti-abortion group Project Truth assertively engaged with students and distributed graphic materials. 

The demonstrators were a small group of non-students who shared their anti-abortion message next to larger-than-life images of aborted fetuses and fetuses in utero with taglines such as “window into the abortion clinic” and “window into the womb.” A-frame signs that surrounded the area included messaging that compared abortion to child sacrifice.

Project Truth has visited Santa Rosa Junior College multiple times in the past, including 2011, 2013, 2019, and 2024. 

Multiple members of the group were outfitted with body cameras and gave fake names. The demonstrators worked hard to engage students, many times calling out to them as they walked through the quad.

SRJC student Shannon Bloomberg, said the group’s presence felt antagonistic. “If you’re going to ask me an antagonistic question, I’m going to give you an absurd response.”

One Project Truth demonstrator gave reporters his “pen-name,” John Newton, to introduce himself because his legal name is searchable on the internet. He said he chose the name because Newton was the commander of a slave ship. “He eventually realized what he was doing was wrong. Became a Christian. He wrote Amazing Grace,” said the demonstrator, who a colleague accidentally identified by his real first name as Matt. 

Another demonstrator identified herself as Sophie Scholl, the same name of a student the Nazi regime executed in 1943 for her resistance activities. “Don’t tell me you care about children dying and then say you’re for abortion. That is so logically inconsistent,” “Scholl” said.

A third demonstrator identified himself as William Wilberforce, the same name as an 18th century British Parliamentarian who opposed the transatlantic slave trade. 

One demonstrator declined to state a name for the record as she faced trouble in the past with people finding her. 

“They kept on adding different arguments from religious perspectives, and they had some fallacies saying that opinion was fact — that religion was fact,” SRJC student Emily Calba said. “We’re not in the 1960s anymore, right? If we want to be successful, we can be mothers and have careers, but it is only when we get to choose.”

While Project Truth brings the abortion debate to college campuses, abortion rights remain on the national conscience as 40% of states banned or limited access to abortion in the post Roe v. Wade America, according to a March 12 Pew Research Poll. Yet the majority of Americans remain in favor of legalized abortion in all or most cases, according to a separate, more in-depth Pew Research Poll.

“A lot of the time these debates don’t really go anywhere, but I still do think it’s important to have them,” said counterdemonstrator and SRJC student Brady Allen while holding a handmade sign. “I only had one day to prepare for this.”

Allen and “Wilberforce” engaged in a debate for more than 30 minutes. Allen’s sign stated “ANTI-ABORTION LAWS ARE MURDER” and “Keep Californian mothers safe!”

Project Truth is listed as a college campus ministry branch of At The Well Ministries, a 501c(3) non-profit run by Don Blythe. Blythe has been engaged in litigation against the City of San Diego over a city ordinance that mandates a buffer zone between free speech activities and schools, religious institutions and healthcare facilities. 

At The Well Ministries’ February newsletter identifies the group’s spring tour of college campuses starting at the University of Hawaii and ending at Sacramento State University. The group’s visit to Santa Rosa Junior College is listed as their fourth of nine stops this semester.

“It feels like a scare tactic to get people’s attention and like fearmongering, and I really don’t like that,” SRJC student Finn Walsh said. A stranger walked by and gave him a small duck while engaged in conversation with a demonstrator. Walsh said they loved the duck and will continue to carry it with them.

SRJC administrators were present across the quad with bilingual, English/Spanish signs posted at entrances. “The activity beyond this sign contains graphic images that may upset you,” the sign stated. Student employees and faculty distributed flyers on how to respond to offensive speech and the legal rights that protect demonstrators. 

The flyer distributed by the Office of Student Affairs stated that anyone with concerns or complaints should call (707)-527-4424.

Tess Toldhwoss

Outside of Bertolini Hall, an A-frame and a large graphic display is framed by two unnamed Project Truth members (left) and "Sophie Scholl" (right).