Fliers scattered around the University of Pennsylvania campus read that Bristol Palin was going to be this year’s fall speaker. Penn’s Special Events and Planning Committee had apparently made its highly anticipated announcement and decided to host the advertised Teen Pregnancy Prevention Spokesperson, leaving some students dazed and confused.
I know I didn't just see this. No. @penn Connaissance is legit bringing BRISTOL PALIN AS A SPEAKER?! pic.twitter.com/lkunsC5QA2
— Andre Nicholas (@omg_its_anf) October 20, 2013
Those posters turned out to be a hoax. Under the Button, UPenn’s “24/7 source for all things Penn,” apparently took the time to create the fake advertisements just to write this charming description on their web page,
A proud teen mama, (and Teen Pregnancy Prevention Ambassador…huh,) Bristol Palin has travelled the U.S. advocating for abstinence, earning her the name “The Worst Person In The World”. Now, thanks to some questionably-legit fliers, she’s coming to Penn! No offense B, but Penn kids are active, and the university dishes out more free condoms than acceptance letters. But hey, make yourself at home, just don’t be shocked when we choose bad sex over no sex.
I hope the ink and paper these students wasted was worth it. The “active” link the author includes in the post takes you to a New York Times article called, “Sex on Campus – She Can Play That Game, Too,” which seems to approve of young women at UPenn choosing one-night stands over serious relationships. I analyzed the seven-page feature in July. If these students want Penn to be known for its free condoms rather than its diplomas, mission accomplished.
On UPenn SPEC’s Facebook page, they condoned and even applauded the poster hoax.
Contrary to Under the Button's story this morning, Bristol Palin will not be our fall speaker. However, we congratulate the masterminds of this hoax for their poster-making skills and flyer-ing tactics! We look forward to announcing our fall speaker in the coming week!
These students’ hoax may have been “all in good fun,” but it wasn't all in good taste. After the negative media attention Palin received for her unplanned pregnancy during her mom’s vice presidential campaign, she has been an ambassador for pro-life and pro-family causes. By doing so, this 23-year-old has managed to change a negative into a positive. She even shared her joyful life with her son in a Lifetime documentary called, “Life’s a Tripp,” proving that from an unplanned pregnancy can come a blessing, not just a regret.
That’s a message any college student should hear.