Students for Life, a group of students that support the pro-life movement against abortion, is trying to become a Recognized Student Organization. Junior elementary education major and president of the group Lauren Halstead said her main goal is to spread the word.
“I think my personal goal is just to expand this group and to really get the word out about what abortion is and really promote the fact that it really is a child inside a mother’s womb while she’s pregnant and not just a clump of cells like I hear abortion doctors say over and over,” Halstead said.
There are currently about 13 members in the group. For it to become an RSO, Halstead said they need 21 people to sign a petition, a constitution and an adviser on campus, then they need the approval of Associated Student Government.
Sophomore elementary education and Spanish major Lauren Brown said if ESU Students for Life is an RSO, more students will get involved.
“I think it’s going to make it a lot more accessible for students around campus and it will make it more well-known as well,” Brown said.
At their meeting on Monday, officers were elected, the mission statement was discussed and members planned a movie night featuring the film “Juno,” scheduled for 8 p.m. March 11. Halstead said she hopes to have the event on campus.
“We just planned our movie night with the movie ‘Juno’ because she’s a teenager and it’s kind of controversial in the abortion issue,” Halstead said.
The group has been meeting Monday nights at the Didde Catholic Campus Center, but Halstead said she wants to move to a room somewhere on campus in order to encourage non-Catholic involvement.
“For now, I think we’re going to keep our meetings here but I think we’re gonna get a room on campus so that it becomes more welcoming to people and not just tied down because I know the church can be kind of intimidating sometimes,” Halstead said.
Halstead said that although being pro-life is a big part of being Catholic, people outside of the church believe in the movement too.
“From going to the March for Life in Washington two Januarys in high school, it’s not just Catholics who believe that,” Halstead said. “All around the nation and different faiths, different beliefs, different public standpoints or political standpoints, so I really would like to branch out to other organizations.”
Halstead said she decided to start the group after attending the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) national conference in Orlando, Florida, over winter break. A speaker there, Lila Rose, was 21 and had been working for the pro-life movement since she was about 15 years old.
“I heard her speak and that really kind of inspired me to bring something back on campus,” Halstead said.
Junior elementary education major Taryn Lobmeyer said she joined the group because she is against abortions. She said the people in the group are great.
“They’re fun to hang out with and fun to be around with and they’ll help you through anything,” Lobmeyer said.
Brown said she likes being around others who share her pro-life standpoint and she hopes other people help support them.
“I like being around people who share my beliefs and who share my convictions and who see it as an important issue that needs to be tackled and needs to be dealt with as a society and being able to do what we can as students,” Brown said.
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Unless ESU and ASG are equally prepared to have a Pro-Choice group as an RSO, this group should not receive approval. While they are thinking about it, they should also evaluate the possibilities of groups for and against assisted suicide, Marijuana legalization, and death penalty. I don’t think it is appropriate to tie ESU’s good name to any controversial cause that could hurt our admission rates or funding. If you accept one group, you must accept them all.
The problem with a group like this is that it is blatantly a political, singular issue group. While groups like Young Democrats and Active Republicans exist (or even POWER, the women’s rights organization), this is one issue only. Theoretically, it wouldn’t even be eligible for funding through ASG as it is purely political/religious.
This would open an ugly can of worms. Can’t you just do things through Didde and call it even?
What does it matter? If a group is recognized it only means the right to use campus buildings for meetings and events and the right to solicit funding from the student fee pool.
Having a pro-life group is no more a deterrant to new students than PRIDE or POWER (pro-abortion) or any of the religious groups.
Sounds like lame excuses used to veil anti-conservative bias which is normal on a college campus.
Way to be progressive and push the status quo!
POWER is an organization working towards gender equality, not Pro-Abortion.
Pro-Abortion is a biased term created through your own opinion on the matter.
Whether or not someone agrees with the views of a Pro-Life advocate, you should admit it is the proper term they prefer to be called.
It’s important we all acknowledge that bias exists on both ends of any argument.
As president of POWER, I can assure you that we are not simply a pro-choice group. While I myself am a strong supporter of pro-choice (as I would not likely even exist if abortion were illegal), it has not been addressed at all during my time in POWER, as we are a group more focused towards gender equality (whether abortion applies or not in your definition of equality is not my place to judge) and ending violence against women.
I wouldn’t mind establishing this group in our schools as long as those involved are respectful of my right to disagree with them and CHOOSE what is best for me. That, to me, is the simple breakdown of this whole pro-choice/pro-life debate, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion but should not be allowed to interfere with the choices of others in this matter.
Everyone has personal beliefs that they should be free to express, it’s only when they will try to legislate them that I have a problem with it.
Of course bias exists on both ends. That’s the nature of any debate.
Just let both sides participate and people will make the “choice” of which side to take.
If we’re going to force students to pay student fees and subsidize campus groups that nobody attends then at least there can be some additional diversity of opinion in the mix.
There is absolutely no reason this group should not be allowed on campus. The First Amendment is still applicable on college campuses. Differing opinions is essential to a vibrant campus. Isn’t a college campus where people go to be “taken out of their comfort zone” or “challenged”?
It doesn’t matter if the group is Anti-Abortion for religious reasons or for other reasons. What does it matter? Some religious people might find some groups on campus offensive, be it PRIDE, POWER, etc. Some groups such as PRIDE, POWER, etc. might find religious groups offensive. That’s too bad- that’s how an open society works, you have a right to be offended. The government, administration, student government, whatever it may be should not get involved with discriminating against these groups.
As long as a group does not advocate violence or violent behavior and lives up to the guidelines that ASG sets out for them, no student group should be discriminated against. It doesn’t matter if that group is pro legalization of drugs, pro/con death penalty, fascist, imperialist, communist, whatever.
On a side note, I would encourage people to read into the Libertarians for Life movement who offer a different point of view for the pro-life movement.
By the way, Pro-Life means PRO LIFE, not just against abortion. Pro Life in any situation, so it is against things like euthanasia and the death penalty as well. ALSO, being pro-life is NOT purely a political or religious viewpoint! There are many people in this world who are not into politics or religion that still have pro-life beliefs. I’m sure that is why they wish to get the group away from Didde, so that people who aren’t religious will feel free to join the group. Didde was probably just an easy place to start because there are so many pro-lifers there. I personally have spoken to at least three people this week that are not religiouly or politically affiliated and are still pro-life. This group becoming an RSO would allow them to participate in something they believe in.
I don’t necessarily think it shouldn’t be allowed, just that the university brass needs to be careful with this. PRIDE and POWER (which, thanks so much Harrison and Cait for mentioning is so much more than a choice group, and that yes, “pro-abortion” is misleading and false in every sense of the word) have a view, but it’s much broader than one issue. A pro-life group is really specific, and it’s dangerous to let a single issue group become recognized. Like the first commenter said, if this is allowed, the school needs to be prepared to recognize all RSOs with a single issue, like a pro-marijuana group or pro-euthanasia group.
Plus, funding would get murky here, because what’s the point of being in a pro-life group without a political agenda? Surely the point of such a group would be to influence people and legislation to end the legality of abortion. Therefore, according to ASG guidelines, they wouldn’t be able to fund anything that goes toward that political purpose. It’s a slippery slope.
Not to say they shouldn’t be allowed. I agree, they have every right to exist, and I agree with Cait that the idea is for everyone to have an opinion but not to try to legislate other people’s actions. But the adminstration of ESU has a lot of thinking to do about where this could lead if they allow it.
Oh, and additionally, I mentioned using Didde because I know they do some pro-life activities there already that this group could just participate in. I also know that most of the people who use Didde are incredibly nice, welcoming people and it wouldn’t matter if people who wanted to join in were Catholic. It’d just be a way to avoid a funding problem to use that as a resource.
If you look back, there was already an RSO for the legaliztion of marijuana so I think your points on that are moot. There was no slippery slope, no crashing of all society as we know it. Most arguments that advocate the slippery slope as the ultimate impact usually don’t happen. KU and K-State both have pro-life groups and both universities are still standing. Maybe this group was made to support one another in their decision to be pro-life and help others as well. Not everyone has to be about pushing a political agenda.
I’m pro-choice personally but if some people want to have a group that is pro-life, however they choose to define it, which they probably should or change the name to what they wish to label themselves as, then let them. Everyone has the freedom of speech and expression and as long as this potential RSO does not cross the line like some radical groups do that are on both sides of the issue,then they have every right to be an RSO.
The issue ASG should look at is whether or not there is an interest for this group on campus and what this group will bring to campus whether it’s diversity, involvement, etc. This is not a slippery slope. The group would just be allowed to use the campus without being charged. Funding the group wouldn’t be allowed since they do have a political/religious outlook.
I think people should be discussing this issue with ASG and members of this group before everyone makes assumptions about the issue.
…if you look at what I said, I didn’t say it shouldn’t be a group or that the world or the university would come crumbling down.
I went to ESU, recently, and I know how the administration works and what kind of thing they’re looking for. I merely was stating that if they let this be a group, they have to know they’re opening the door for all political issue RSOs. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing; in fact, I’d love to see the campus get more political, more controversial, more like a college campus. But ESU likes things tame, likes to avoid treating their students like adults and keep everyone happy and the controversey down. It’s a slippery slope in that this will likely cause a lot more groups to pop up, and I would bet money the administration of ESU won’t like it. They just need to be aware of it.
I don’t know what “assumptions” you thought I was making. I think that college students should be joining groups, they should be questioning and protesting and thinking. But my experience at ESU tells me the administration doesn’t want its students doing that, and so they need to be aware of the implications. All I’m saying.
I consider myself mostly feminist and pro-choice. I can’t say that I’ve considered every issue that could be labeled under those terms, but I do think the terms engender ideas of equality and choice.
I support any group, short of a group advocating violence, to petition to become and RSO and receive funding. And why not? We currently have an RSO that calls itself Anime/Obsession. While the merits of that RSO could be debated, they certainly serve a purpose and outlet for their own members.
As others above have said, universities should cultivate a diverse culture of different opinions and values. While I disagree with the Pro-Life movement (and some of their tactics), I don’t disagree with their right to have a voice.
I do not like these pro-life groups, now they are on the campus where I attend school, if you give them an inch they will take a mile. I know they are protected by the constitution, but I still do not agree with this, because those groups are harassment, and really have no business preaching out against abortion, since they have never had one, and have no idea how it effects a woman.
Hopefully the powers on campus, will keep these people on a tight leash.