Greiner and Palmer told the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, at their Feb. 14 meeting, that they had not closed the door on such a display, but that significantly more advance planning would be required.

A written request had been submitted to Palmer by Matthew Boyle, representing UB Students for Life, a group opposed to abortion, to use 90,000 square feet of open space for the display. The space would be used to place small white crosses in the ground, representing aborted fetuses.

Greiner vociferously defended the right of groups like UB Students for Life to use the university as a forum for expressing their ideas. "We are not in any way, shape or form forbidding the display," he emphasized. "Groups surely can obtain license to express their ideas on this campus. It's just that that license is not unlimited." Greiner's chief concerns involved the scale and timing of the display. "Last year, it just appeared-on Parents' Weekend-and that wasn't appropriate," he said. Last year's display was vandalized shortly after it appeared.

"The display itself, frankly, was a very effective exercise of First Amendment rights," said Greiner. He warned that those who oppose the display because of the content of its message, are "putting their own First Amendment rights at risk."

Palmer explained that Boyle's request was incomplete and would not be approved as submitted. He said the written protocol for student groups to follow in matters of this sort is contained in the university's Special Events Planning Guide. Bonding, which ensures repayment if any damage is caused; liability insurance coverage and security for the display are all issues that have not yet been adequately addressed, Palmer explained.

Greiner cautioned that a non-authorized display, or an act of civil disobedience, would not be tolerated. "That's a bedrock for me. You will observe the laws of this state on this campus," said Greiner, explaining that campus security will arrest any violators.

Anatomical Sciences Professor Herbert Schuel called last year's display an "in- your- face provocation." He urged Greiner to use the campus to "sponsor a dialogue" on the issue of abortion, rather than serve as a site for such a display. Greiner, however, disagreed, saying if "provocative" were the standard, "half the artwork on campus would have to come down."

Greiner called recent Buffalo News reports announcing that the display would return ,"ill-informed." Friday editions of the News, however, quoted event organizer Matthew Boyle as being likely to look for an alternate site rather then provide insurance and security for the UB display. The campus display was to be a prelude, according to Boyle, to a "National Cemetery of the Inocents" display of 1.6 million crosses, representing the number of abortions in the country each year, to be erected somewhere in the Buffalo area the weekend of April 19.