A College Student's Experience at the March for Life

By Laura Antkowiak

Editor's note. The following is a story principally about one group of students representing two colleges who made the 13-hour trip from Indiana to Washington, D.C. But it also illustrates the kind hearts and joyous spirit of the 100,000 people who filled hundreds and hundreds of buses to come to the annual March for Life. In addition the story wonderfully teaches how involvement in one phase of pro-life activities can not only spur additional involvement but also set the stage to recruit new pro-life champions on campus. The author is a former intern at NRLC.

The scene was almost worse than the aftermath of a dorm party. I climbed over legs and arms extending across the aisle as I made my way to the back of the bus. A few students, having given up on their cramped seats, lay sleeping on the floor amid discarded textbooks, magazines, and decks of cards.

Meanwhile, the bus literally bounced along the Capital Beltway that surrounds Washington, D.C. I couldn't help smirking from the carpool lane at all the drivers impatiently slouching at their dashboards in bumper-to-bumper morning traffic.

I am not a morning person myself, but as captain of the Ara Parseghian bus, I had the unpleasant task of rousing my fellow students over the microphone. (For those few who may not know, Ara Parseghian was a famous Notre Dame football coach.)

My fellow captain and I ran through the itinerary for the day as we pulled into the parking lot at RFK Stadium a few miles from where the March would begin.

Many students in our group had never been to Washington before. Having interned at National Right to Life, I was able to provide a detailed explanation of the Metro system and referred everyone to their trip packets. Eyes, glassy from lack of sleep, perked up as we began to feast on juice and pastries provided by our dining hall. A moment later we set off for downtown.

Our group reunited on the Ellipse, expansive grounds very near the White House, to join a crowd estimated at 100,000. Beneath a blue and gold banner bearing the slogan "Irish Fighting for Life," about 210 students from the University of Notre Dame, St. Mary's College, and Holy Cross College began to psych themselves up for the rally and march to the Supreme Court. The moment marked the culmination of months of planning on the part of the Right to Life officers and trip committees.

Two years ago, the March had been a relatively small affair for Notre Dame/St. Mary's Right to Life, as only about 35 students made the trek to Washington from our home away from home in northern Indiana. A few of us had been particularly energized by that trip in 1997. By word of mouth and a massive campus media blitz, we nearly quadrupled that number in 1998 for the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

In 1999, an astounding 250 students signed up for the March for Life in our dining halls, and a lengthy waiting list had formed. Several students had to drop out because of problems with missing class, but when we departed from Notre Dame, we still nearly filled our five buses.

After the rally and speeches, Notre Dame gathered to march down Constitution Avenue behind the banner of the National College Students for Life. Present also were students from the University of Nebraska, Catholic University, and Christendom College, as well as Seattle University's one representative, the NCSL president. Speaking also as the secretary of National College Students for Life, we would be interested in knowing what other colleges brought groups.

I imagine our companions got a little tired of the Notre Dame fight song, as we probably belted out more renditions than the band plays at a football game. With gusto in the crisp Washington afternoon, we sang, prayed, and chanted. "Who are we? ND! What are we? Pro-life!"

Alumni and families of students joined us at the March. Admiring children in Notre Dame jackets cheered from the sidewalks and waved their pro-life signs.

We hiked up Constitution Avenue past the Capitol Building, singing our alma mater to Notre Dame. Before us was the breath- taking sight of a colorful sea of thousands that stretched down the hill below us. The spirit was electric.

I am an old pro at the March for Life, but still remember how exciting it was when my mother pulled me and several of my classmates out of school for the day to ride down to Washington, D.C.

Now finding myself in a position of responsibility, I enjoy watching my college friends marvel at our nation's capital and the size of the March for Life crowds. The event never grows old

Notre Dame/St. Mary's Right to Life is one of the most active clubs on campus. The March is really the centerpiece of our calendar, and one of our most effective ways of recruiting new members and supporters.

I have seen how we reach more students and garner more attention each year at Notre Dame. As I watch the progress of pro-life legislation and discussion, I can't help feeling that we are getting a little closer to our goal each year.

From a college student's perspective, an additional highlight of the trip is the opportunity for bonding. Little did I know in my freshman year that those who appeared in the pictures taken in front of the FBI Building and at The Tombs in Georgetown would become some of my best friends.

Because of the long bus ride, our club always makes sure to schedule one free day in Washington so that our marchers can tour the city. This year there were so many of us making appearances at the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the Smithsonian, and even the Clinton impeachment trial that people started recognizing us: "Oh, you're the Notre Dame group. We've been seeing your people all day."

I have also discovered that my deepest friendships involve more than having a great time with my fellow students celebrating an Irish football victory or naming all the big-hair eighties bands we can over a sketchy dining hall meal. Sharing a deep respect for the gift of life affects how we relate to each other as people, especially when traveling in a cramped space for about 1,400 round-trip miles out of the way to do so.

This is not to say that our club members don't brawl over which movie we're going to watch on the bus or wonder why we have to stop at Breezewood and turn on the bus lights at five o'clock in the morning. But every year at the March for Life, friendships solidify, freshmen find their places, and new right to life activists are born.

Very important is that when we return to campus each year, we discover that the March is valuable not only for the awareness and enthusiasm it raises among our members, but for the discourse it precipitates on campus. For many students, the March for Life is their first experience with political action.

New marchers almost always express amazement at the number of deeply committed people who show up at a still relatively unknown event. Their remarks to the officers and the school newspaper are an honest testament to the March's power.

For weeks after the event, columns and letters to the editor of The Observer duel over the importance of activities like the March or simple pro-life prayer, and some class discussions take up the issue as well.

Recently, one of our trip coordinators and I were interviewed by a local radio station. We were asked questions I often hear at this time of year: Why do you do this?

If the media coverage of the March is so dismal, and if the pro-abortion Clinton/Gore administration can still veto pro-life legislation, why do we go to the trouble?

The answer is easy, and could apply equally well to working at crisis pregnancy centers, or helping educate the larger public to the stands on issues of men and women running for office.

On the individual level, the March puts students in touch with the world in a way that is difficult to replicate as busy Midwest college students. It commits each person a little more firmly to the cause of life, and often inspires members to become more active in National Right to Life.

In provoking campus debate, the March gives pro-lifers the opportunity to promote the very logical and positive message of life. Finally, we believe that we do have a moral duty to speak out for those who have no voice, through the extraordinary opportunities given to us as college students.

Already we at Notre Dame/St. Mary's Right to Life are thinking ahead to next fall, to all the red tape we will have to begin plowing through, to the publicity and waiver-signing and room assignments. Our goal is to pack seven buses for Washington, but even if we fall short, our appearance will tell the country that young people on campuses throughout the nation will not rest until the tragedy of abortion is ended.