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University of Mary
Washington students raise young voices for Life
By Olivia Gans, President Last week, despite a major day-long downpour of cold, Virginia rain, approximately 40 young men and women braved the elements to attend an evening of pro-life encouragement sponsored by the Campus Catholic Ministry (CCM) at the University of Mary Washington. The students were not all members of the CCM but most knew each other. They had come out to share a meal and hear my lecture entitled “Bringing Pro-life Hope to a Hurting Society.” From long experience I know that understanding how being pro-life can make a powerful difference in a culture that sees death (abortion/ euthanasia) as the best “answer” we have to offer, is a message that resonates with college students everywhere. But, as I made clear, the simple truth is that protecting life is hard work. It demands commitment and creativity. I reminded them that in their college class work they are learning how to tap their own creativity in order to make a mark in their chosen field. They believe they have answers no one has yet thought of to everything. That attitude can be an immense help to the pro-life movement. The audience was intense and somber throughout most of the evening but broke in to joyful laughter at regular intervals as we shared stories of success or stumbles that each of us had encountered in trying to be pro-life on a liberal, pro-abortion campus. One truth hit home with many in the room: because they are true survivors of the abortion generation; they were special and uniquely qualified to speak and act on this issue. Representatives of the University of Mary Washington pro-life organization offered a variety of options for their fellow students to participate in over the rest of this year. Several of those activities involved supporting the local Mother Helping Center. Other ideas revolved around gently confronting their peers on campus in thought-provoking ways. I encouraged them to make sure they were all registered to vote as there is no better way to change the course of this debate than by electing strong pro-life leaders at every level! As young adults they need to be active in that vital part of our efforts. Even though they are tucked away at school they can and must still play a role in the process of how pro-life laws are made in America! We discussed at length the need to steadily and compassionately engage their peers. Since theirs is the generation most effected by abortion, it is critical that they initiate the discussion. The hard part is that because of the damage done to this generation, it is also true that many of their fellow students either have had an abortion or know someone that has. That is the single most powerful reason that walls rise up when the conversation begins. The reality is that talking about pro-life issues on any campus is challenging. Too often, these students, like so many others I’ve met, say that their own teachers are hostile to the facts of human life, unwilling to honestly engage in a search for truth on the pivotal question of our time. The eager young men and women at UMW sometimes feel the pressure to be silent from all sides. Yet was clear was that they are ready to meet that challenge. After the lecture and a Q&A, I stayed for an extra hour to chat with about 15 students. We talked about making pro-life videos and letter-writing projects to the schools paper that will help keep the issue on the front burner on the campus. Becoming members of Virginia Society for Human Life and NRLC and Young Pro-life Virginia (an intercollegiate effort in Virginia) was also considered. Working with others makes a big difference. The best part of my night was at the very end when one young man, whom I’d noticed sitting in the front, stepped up to speak to me. He told me that he feared that what he had to say might shut down our conversation then and there. I paused and smiled at him and still shaking his hand told him to hit me with his best shot! He proceeded to tell me that while he had been raised to be “pro-choice” and that he thought he still was, he admitted that what I had shared that evening about the effect of abortion on women’s lives and their families as well as society had opened his eyes. He was now to the point where he agreed that abortion was probably not a healthy response to a difficult situation. That perhaps we do need to provide better answers that respect both mother and child more effectively. I thanked him for his honesty and courage! I suggested that perhaps the best way for him to get to know the Movement better was to look into the end-of-life issues. We discussed the Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics, and I saw his face light up! He acknowledged that he was deeply concerned about those issues! We parted with respect. I felt I just met a future pro-life leader! I need your feedback on both Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today. Please send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha |