(Photo by Daily Princetonian) 

New Princeton correspondent Maureen O’Connor ‘08 o’checks in with news of a Bizarro World inversion of abortion debate tactics:

Sensationally terrifying abortion-related imagery usually falls in the territory of the religious right, leaving lefty pro-choicers nothing but a few boring words from that total snooze of an 18th-century document, the Bill of Rights. But this week, Princeton’s Pro-Choice Vox is doing its best to reverse the insane-vs.-boring binary of the reproductive rights debate, with a shot of S&M straight to the heart of Old Nassau. To protest the “Global Gag Rule” (that total snooze of a recently reinstated foreign policy), Vox chained a bound, gagged, lingerie-wearing blow-up doll to a metal chair and planted her in front of the Frist Campus Center. No word as to whether the doll has yet been violated (I’m crossing my fingers for one of the strangely turgid stuffed tiger tails sold at the gift shop), but the display’s proximity to the Street suggests a dangerous level of sexually explicit prank potential for the weekend.

A neon pink sign explains Vox’s angle: “You think this is dirty? Learn about the Global Gag Rule,” followed by an invitation to visit the organization’s information table in the campus center. There, Vox distributes baggies loaded with strawberry-flavored condoms, candy, and assorted Gag Rule info.

But sexually liberated baby-killing Princetonians beware! Best Student at Princeton™ Lester Mackey ‘07 (seriously — he just won the Pyne Honor Prize, “the highest general distinction conferred on an undergraduate”) is not amused, and has taken his battle to … the Facebook.  “Students Taking On Public Pornography at Princeton (STOPPP)” has raised an army of 30 highly decent, plastic-orifice-hating students to protest the “sadomasochistic display.” From the discussion board, regarding the prospect of nabbing Vox on an obscenity law violation:

[T]he photo on the front page of The Daily Princetonian shows the display to be “acceptably” clothed, though I and a number of people that I’ve talked to found the display topless. I suppose it would be difficult to prove which is the intended pose and level of dress of the display.

If the group’s whopping two wall posts are any indication, STOPPP is unlikely to stop anything before Vox packs up the doll and moves on to a less titillating project next week.