Moviment Graffitti is back on campus with a fully set up freshers’ week stand displaying, among others, material that touches on the abortion debate.
On Wednesday, the NGO said its stand had been dismantled overnight by members of KSU, the students’ council, for displaying flyers about women's reproductive rights.
KSU president Luke Bonanno told Times of Malta the council believed that the University of Malta’s freshers' week was not “the right place to discuss such controversial and sensitive subjects". He insisted "this is not censorship". Pro-life activists had also been stopped from bringing up the matter, he said.
But Andre Callus, from Graffitti, said the stand contained material linked to several campaigns led by Graffitti that included campaigns about the environment, public spaces, migration, LGBTIQ and reproductive rights.
KSU's action did not go down well with other activists, some of whom replaced their Facebook profile photo with that of Graffitti's dismantled stand, and other organisations such as the Malta Women’s Lobby, MGRM, Pulse and Żgħażagħ Laburisti.
But Miriam Sciberras, from the pro-life Life Network Foundation, said she appreciated the KSU’s decision.
On Thursday, Moviment Graffitti told Facebook followers they were at campus enjoying the last day of the KSU Freshers’ Week.
A photo uploaded on social media shows that the NGO's stand has once again been set up with material about the environment, public spaces, migration, LGBTIQ and reproductive rights.
"Pop over to our stand inside the student organisations tent, tucked away in front of the library, until 3.30pm. Come talk to us about the issues affecting you, especially the commercialisation and censorship present at the KSU Freshers’ Week.
"We will keep fighting for rights and social justice, and will certainly not be dictated on what issues we can speak about. The fight continues," Graffitti said on Facebook.
When contacted, Callus said KSU had not given the go-ahead for the display of pro-choice material, but by Thursday morning, no one had asked it to remove the flyers.
Earlier this week, Graffitti, Pulse and S-Cubed slammed KSU for the "commercialisation" of freshers' week.
For the third consecutive year, the student council, as organisers of the event, has been criticised for "commercialising" campus activities that are meant to help new students familiarise themselves with the University of Malta.