Meghan E. Grizzle ’07 sits at a counter in the Greenhouse Café, racking her brain to choose three words that best describe her. After a minute of careful thought, she slowly says, “Conservative. Christian. Woman.”
On a mostly liberal campus, Grizzle’s views make her an untraditional countercultural figure. Over the past three years she has become a leader among the minority of students that fights to defend conservative principles.
Raised in Orange County, Calif., Grizzle grew up with strong conservative values. “At home, everybody is conservative and basically everyone is Christian too,” she says. From her first days at Harvard, Grizzle dove into activities that allowed her to promote these values: Harvard Right to Life (HRL), the Harvard Republican Club, the Harvard-Radcliffe Christian Fellowship, and the Harvard Salient all count her as an active member.
Grizzle might be best known for spearheading HRL’s highly controversial Elena campaign, a series of anti-abortion posters that pictured a developing fetus speaking as a young girl. The posters came under fire on house e-mail lists and in conversations all over campus. Grizzle believes the controversy points to the success of the campaign: “It did exactly what I hoped which was to get people to talk about the issue. If we make people angry, I think we’re doing something right, because it means they noticed.”
Lately, the senior has focused her efforts on writing for the Salient and for a conservative blog called Modestly Yours. Grizzle recently wrote to criticize the Women’s Center for under-representing conservative literature in its library. According to Grizzle, the Center has made efforts to diversify its library since the article was published.
In her time at Harvard, Grizzle has maintained a civil relationship with her ideological rivals. “I don’t think the manner in which I say things should offend people...I think it’s important to not be disrespectful or unintelligent,” says Grizzle. For the most part, she is treated civilly in return, remembering only one unpleasantry during her protest of last year’s immigration rally. “I think somebody called me an asshole,” she recalls.
After graduation, Grizzle plans to work in Washington, DC before deciding whether to apply to law school. Wherever she ends up, Grizzle will continue the outspoken defense of her ideas that has characterized her time at Harvard. As Salient Editor Ryan M. McCaffrey ’07 puts it, “She has very strong convictions and she’s not afraid to advance the causes in which she believes.” And even if most Harvard students won’t share those convictions, they can appreciate the passion with which she’ll fight for them.
