Success Stories
St. Louis University (SLU) Students for Life
After regaining momentum in the 2006-2007 school year, Students for Life at SLU had another extremely active year in 2007-2008. The year began with a positive Respect Life Week, including a featured speaker from Feminists for Life. Uniting with other pro-lifers, SFL organized a trip to the March for Life for over 80 students. During the first semester, the organization grew from 10-15 members to 50+ active members.
In the spring semester of 2008, the 2nd annual Run for Their Lives 5k run/walk raised $2,700. Over 150 people attended the on-campus run/walk. Also, SFL collaborated with multiple university departments to publish “It’s Positive. Now What?” which is the first and only printed resource for pregnant students on campus. To help women who choose life, SFL organized a baby shower for 15 mothers at Our Lady’s Inn, a crisis pregnancy center in St. Louis.
However, the highlight of the 2007-2008 school year was the creation of the Pregnant and Parenting Assistance Scholarship. SLU Students for Life believes that no student should have to choose between having an education and having a child. This scholarship is the first step in bringing financial resources to expecting women and men on campus, whether they are students, faculty, or staff. During the course of the year, SLU Students for Life were able to raise $6000 for the scholarship endowment fund.
University of Cincinnati Students for Life. The UC SFL group has done a tremendous job this year (2008-2009) promoting the culture of life on their campus. In April alone, they have hosted Arnold Culbreath, who spoke to the campus about how abortion is the leading cause of death in the African-American community, passed out Human Life Alliance magazines, and promoted a discussion on “Should Abortion Remain Legal?”
In fall 2008, the group discovered that their women’s center only referred pregnant students to Planned Parenthood. The center actually told a student that Crisis Pregnancy Centers simply, “push you to make a decision,” and recommended that the student only go to Planned Parenthood to learn what her options were. The group is currently looking into different ways to get helpful information into the women’s center.
UC Students for Life have done much this year to educate themselves, their campus, and their community on the truth about abortion.
Auburn University Students for Life
There are several noteworthy successes that Auburn Students for Life has had on their campus. They have been able to develop a calendar full of a wide variety of events to engage the various types of students on their campus. They began the Spring 2009 semester by attending the March for Life and SFLA Conference. They have spent many hours at their local 40 Days for Life and have actively engaged other pro-life groups across the state to participate in the event. Auburn Students for Life has dedicated several of their events and time to raise resources for their local pregnancy resource center by hosting a diaper drive, a Run for Lives fundraiser and a silent auction fundraiser in addition to their volunteer work at their local PRC. They have also hosted several speakers on campus including a Justice for All training and display to target those students who are better reached by imagery. To engage the politically minded, they have asked all of their members to distribute FOCA awareness petition cards. Their pro-life film festival and social events have allowed them to address the issue of abortion on campus in a relaxed setting. They recognize that they must develop a variety of events to reach ALL students on their campus. In addition,
University of Arizona Medical Students for Life, campus life-savers
Changing the hearts and minds of their peers about the issue of abortion is one of the main goals of the University of Arizona Medical SFL group. Their group chosen the approach of seeking common ground. This semester their main event was a luncheon with two post-abortive women sharing their testimonies. This event had approximately 50 individuals in attendance including several professors and students from the pro-choice group on campus. After the event Kristen Aggerbeck, President of Medical Students for Life said of the event, “It has opened up more communication between the groups and left people with a positive view of the pro-life students, steering them away from the stereotypes that we are anti-woman, have unfounded ideas, and are pro-life solely for religious reasons.”
After the event, the pro-choice medical students indicated that they were looking forward to co-hosting events with Medical Students for Life and learning more about the psychological effects of abortion.
In addition, Medical Students for Life at the University of Arizona also sought to make a lasting impression on their campus by addressing the current curriculum. In preparation for a lecture to be presented by the Medical Director of the Tucson Planned Parenthood they diligently researched the inaccurate points in the lecture and presented their findings to the Block Director. While the lecture still was delivered as planned, the Block Director removed some of the bias and propaganda from the lecture materials.
As a result of seeking common ground and opening up communications, Medical Students for Life has a chance to make a lasting impact on their campus and to change the minds of their peers in the upcoming year.
Tulane Students for Life
Tulane Students for Life is being recognized for their effective outreach to both pro-life and pro-abortion students. They have marketed their events in unique and creative ways. Their Facebook messages have included the top three pro-life pick-up lines and promises of Lil Wayne. They also market their events with unique names, such as, “Drop it Like it’s Hot: S’More roast and Juno movie Night.”
This group has implemented a specific public relations tactic with a clear goal of enticing students who wouldn’t normally attend a pro-life event as well as stabling the social aspect of the club. Once at the event, the group members are able to have meaningful dialogue with the students who are unsure of where they stand on the Life issue.
Tulane Students for Life also actively participates in events normally associated with pro-abortion students. For example, this group not only supported but actively participated in the “Take back the Night: March against sexual violence” event on their campus, hosted by the newly formed VOX group. By participating in events like this, the group has shown that they not only care about and support women, but they are willing to have open dialogue with the pro-abortion students on their campus.
Central Michigan University Students for Life
CMU Students for Life is being recognized for their commitment to making life an issue on their campus every day. CMU Students for Life has 25 active members and is one of the most vocal groups on their campus.
One of their members recently wrote a front-page article for their student newspaper which exposed a parenting student on campus who almost had an abortion because there was nothing offered on campus to help her. In response to this, CMU Students for Life will be hosting a Pregnancy Resource Forum to raise awareness of what pregnant and parenting students need on their campus in spring 2009. They will also be hosting Dr. Alveda King, an alum of CMU, to speak to the student body, and hopefully get a meeting with the school president about what changes need to take place on campus to help pregnant and parenting women.
This semester (Fall 08), CMU Students for Life has brought in a speaker on embryonic stem cell research and followed up with tabling on the issue. They have also done chalking to raise abortion awareness on campus.
On top of all this, CMU Students for Life is working on developing a website in order for students to find out more about their group and the local pregnancy resource center (PRC). CMU Students for Life has done an excellent job of raising awareness on campus about life issues, and SFLA is excited about their current efforts to help pregnant and parenting students on campus.
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Students for Life
UNC- Chapel Hill Students for Life has shown excellence in many areas. This group is continually recruiting, whether it be at their campus organization fair, tabling, clipboarding, or going to other group meetings to invite members to come to their meetings. As new contacts are made, officers split up the list of new members and everyone gets a Facebook friend request, email, and phone call from an officer inviting them to the meeting. They’re dedicated to forming relationships with each person in the group.
As a result of their presence on campus this group has been instrumental in changing the stereotype that pregnant women can’t stay in school. They have worked with their student government and other groups to advocate for better child care on campus.
Prior to this group’s activism, their women’s health center was illegally using student fee money to promote pro-abortion events, while directing students to Planned Parenthood. To stop this injustice, UNC- Chapel Hill SFL went undercover, and caught the women’s center showing this unfair bias on tape. The women’s center director was then forced to resign after lying to the school chancellor about her actions.
University of Florida Pro-Life Alliance
University of Florida Pro-Life Alliance is being recognized for their commitment to making Life an issue on their campus everyday. This semester (Fall 2008) Pro-Life Alliance has created one of the most intense pro-life activity calendars. This group has pro-life activities planned for every week during this semester. Already they have attended several political rallies to protest pro-choice policies, chalked hearts, tabled weekly with questions boards, clip boarded for new members, and held fundraisers. They have also held their annual Pro-Life week. During their Pro-Life week they hosted Silent No More speakers, set up a baby shoe display, hosted a diaper drive for a local crisis pregnancy center, held a candlelight vigil, and sidewalk counseled at a local abortion clinic. They also set up tabling events with information focusing on the abortion and breast cancer link and the racism of the abortion industry.
Their hard work will continue throughout the entire semester with activities such as tabling, clip boarding and registering pro-life voters, and hosting a sea turtle egg smash display. They also plan to participate in the Pro-Life Memorial Day and the Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity.
In addition to their active pro-life calendar Pro-Life Alliance has demonstrated a commitment to networking with other pro-life students. The members of Pro-Life Alliance are actively forming the Florida Students for Life statewide group. Florida Students for Life is currently planning their first event for September 30th, “Florida Students Unite to Vote Pro-Life.” They will be distributing voter guides and explaining why abortion is an important voting topic. In the spring, they plan to host a statewide conference and a lobby day.
Mary Washington Students for Life
Mary Washington SFL was founded by Megan McCrumb in the 2004-05 school year. Their mission is to provide an educational forum for students and faculty, regarding the issue of abortion and to provide an opportunity for activism in the pro-life movement. Their main events in the 2007-08 school year were participating in the 2nd Annual Wash for Life, taking group members to see the Bella opening, attending the 2008 March for Life and Students for Life of America conference, organizing a Rock for Life concert on campus, making club t-shirts as seen in the picture, and holding diaper drives at local churches and stores collecting over 3100 individual diapers, 80 boxes of diaper wipes, 40 baby bibs, as well as baby clothes, baby powder, lotion, and shampoo, diaper bags, baby blankets, maternity clothes, baby hats, pacifiers, etc. for the local pregnancy resource centers in Fredericksburg, VA. Their group meets weekly and has had guest speakers this year from 40 Days for Life, Rachel’s Vineyard, the Vitae Caring Foundation, and Bethany Christian Services to help educate their members and peers. Mary Washington SFL is an example of what one motivated campus SFL group can accomplish in only 1 year!
Clarion University Students for Life
Students for Life at Clarion used the Spring 2008 semester to change the nature of their campus. Clarion SFL worked with Feminists for Life to organize a Pregnancy Resource Forum on their campus. As a result of the forum, they were able to start a new group called the Pregnant and Parenting Resource Initiative to continue the work started by the Pregnancy Resource Forum. It is an organization run by and for pregnant and parenting students in order to provide support and advocacy for students with children. It is not an explicitly pro-life organization, but it does provide resources for students who are pregnant and parenting, making the choice for life a more viable option.
This Students for Life group is dedicated to making their campus an environment where a pregnant student can succeed. In addition, Clarion Students for Life attended the March for Life, participated in a rally with local pro-life leaders, held an abortion protest and held a pro-life fundraiser.
This upcoming year, Clarion SFL plans to continue networking with other student groups. They hope to hold a voter registration drive to register pro-life voters, hold a cemetery of the innocents, host a debate with a guest speaker, Life Week with various pro-life activities, and attend the March for Life and the Students for Life of America Annual Conference.
Florida Christian College Students for Life
Florida Christian College Students for Life was founded in Fall of 2008 by a SFLA Field Agent, and already they have a strong core group of members, dedicated officers, and plans for future events. In addition, they have an impressive list of completed events, promising a bright future for this Florida pro-life group!
Earlier this month, Students for Life of FCC designed fliers to advertise their group on campus and recruited members in a dedicated effort to expand their group. They also attended 40 Days for Life in their area. They have plans to do more recruiting, fundraising, and discovering the needs of local pregnancy resource centers in their area.
Their first major endeavor has been to design, collect materials for, and successfully build a Cemetery of the Innocents. The president of the group asked a local hardware store to help defray the cost of their materials, and consequently FCC was able to get $250 worth of supplies for only $50! They assembled and painted 300 pink and blue crosses as well as a 16 x 16 ft. sign explaining what their Cemetery stands for. They erected the memorial in a 350 square foot piece of land in a prominent spot on campus, and a number of students demonstrated their dedication to the group and to life by sacrificing one of their Saturdays to this project.
Joanie Barrett
Joanie is a student at Wayne State in Detroit. As a sophomore, she helped start Students for Life at her school and began volunteering at a local crisis pregnancy center with some friends. She answered the phone at the clinic one day to hear a young woman ask, “How much is it for an abortion?” She called thinking that the pro-life pregnancy center was an abortion clinic. Joanie talked with her and helped her figure out her due date and stage of pregnancy, she was about two months along.
She told Joanie about her boyfriend, her mother, and her friends all pressuring her to have an abortion. But that wasn’t what she wanted. After hours of crying, talking, thinking and praying she finally decided to keep her baby. Months later, Joanie visited the two of them in the hospital when her son was born. That experience redefined her commitment to the pro-life cause. There is a baby alive today who almost didn’t make it. But she knew that it wasn’t just his life that was saved. So many women who have abortions experience terrible grief and immerse themselves in a lifestyle of promiscuity, drugs, and alcohol. And more abortions. But she chose life and is so glad she did. She is a great mom and is committed to providing the best she can for her son.
Erin Raiche
Erin was a former SFLA Field Coordinator and also a double life-saver. When working as an intern in the SFLA office in the summer of 2007, Erin saved 2 unborn children in 1 week! Erin saved one child by sidewalk counseling at a local Planned Parenthood and another by using Facebook.
© Students for Life of America 2009