A diverse group of professors, students, activists and well-wishers gathered in front of Parks Library Thursday to mourn the death of Kansas Dr. George Tiller who was shot and killed while serving as an usher in the lobby of his Lutheran church Sunday.

Warren Blumenfeld, associate professor of curriculum and instruction and well-known activist on campus, said he watched the news on Sunday in disbelief.

“I saw CNN on Sunday and it took me about 30 seconds to decide to organize this meeting,” he said. “I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. There’s no such thing as an innocent bystander.”

Blumenfeld said he made a number of calls, wrote a press release and encouraged people to get together to commemorate the life Tiller who was one of the most well-known late-term abortionists in the country.

The group stood in a circle leaving the PA system silent as they introduced themselves and laughed over shared stories and experiences.

Hector Avalos, professor of philosophy and religious studies, spoke to the group and  it is necessary to change the language of the debate to more accurately reflect the players.

“They’re the anti-choice group,” he said. “Not pro-life.”

Avalos, who is currently on leave from the university working on a book about biblical ethics, said many who advocate the killing of abortion doctors are using the Bible to justify their actions.

As the bells of the campanile chimed at 5:30, the group stood talking animatedly to one another and listening as each speaker decried the actions of the individual believed to have shot Tiller.

Dan Rice, Ames city councilman and academic advisor for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,compared the shooting to a terrorist act.

“This is the Taliban in the U.S.,” he said.  “Anytime a group uses intimidation and fear to further their agenda scares me.”

Rice emphasized the importance of education being used to prevent unneeded abortions.

“We have a war on terror right now that we’re spending billions on in Afghanistan and other middle eastern countries and we can’t spend 1 percent more on education through places like Planned Parenthood just to get the terror at home taken care of,” he said.

As the sun set slowly, casting long shadows over their circle, they shared memories of times before the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade ruling that made abortion legal and spoke of personal experiences.

Blumenfeld said he encouraged people to speak-out against acts of violence against minorities, women and people whose sexual orientation causes them to be ostracized.

“These acts were not taken by holy warriors on a mission to defend a deeply held belief,” he said.

Rather, he said they were taken to control women’s lives and keep them in the service of men.

“So we gather here,” he said.  “To memorialize Dr. George Tiller and all of the others lost to this senseless violence.”