How to be a successful pro-life advocate on your campus
It can be challenging to be a pro-life student on campus. At many colleges and universities, abortion is viewed as a sacred right and at the same time a normal medical procedure. As the new school year begins, I encourage my fellow pro-life students to take it upon yourself to work towards building a culture of life at our schools across the country.
Here are a few ideas to get started.
- Start a pro-life club.
One of the most effective ways to get your message out there is by starting a club. Whether you are attending college or high school, students are always looking to get involved and expand their resumes. Students for Life is an incredible organization that will allow you to meet like-minded students and truly make strides in changing your school’s culture. Find out if your campus already has a Students for Life organization and, if not, start your own!
- Encourage friendly discussions and debates.
Make your position known! There are countless ways to get your message out there. Sport a pro-life t-shirt, hat, or pin! People with opposing views, or who are just curious about the meaning of your clothes, are bound to come up to you and start a discussion. It is vital that you enter a discussion with as many statistics and facts as possible. However, it is just as important that you keep a caring, compassionate tone. Hatred and judgment will get you nowhere when discussing abortion.
- Free stuff!
People love freebies. If your campus will allow it, set up a booth with pro-life pins, magnets, and anything else you can get your hands on. You can use this to promote your Students for Life club or just to raise awareness for your cause. October 9th is the official pro-life cupcake day! Yes, that’s a thing. Get a group of friends together and bake a batch to give out at your school! Trust me, nobody will say no to a free cupcake. A lot of people oblivious to the subject will come for the free stuff and hopefully stay for the discussion. Every single mind you change may lead to a life saved.
- Sponsor a stork bus.
This is definitely one of my favorite ideas. Stork buses provide free counseling and ultrasounds to pregnant mothers. According to their website, four out of five women who enter a bus will end up choosing life. They have Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) that are meant to travel to locations mothers in need of compassion might be, i.e. college campuses. Currently, they are only accepting applications for rental from pregnancy resource centers. Odds are a local pregnancy resource center will be thrilled to help bring an MMU to your campus. This is an exceptional way to change your school’s culture and effectively save lives.
- Bring a pro-life speaker to your campus.
Bringing a pro-life speaker to your campus is a great way to make people aware of your movement and counter an anti-life culture. Hosting a speaker is definitely on the costly side of things, but the benefits will make it worthwhile. Students for Life has a comprehensive list of speakers that students may want to bring onto their campus as well as their contact information and average prices, check it out here!
Remember— we are the pro-life generation and change starts with you and your peers.
By Autumn Klein, a sophomore at St. Petersburg College, a contributing content coordinator for Lone Conservative and the editor in chief for The Rogue Review.
