Students for Life, one of the newest student organizations at Eastern Michigan University, is a group that organizes and participates in events both on and off campus geared toward the prevention of abortion.
“The main goal is to bring awareness to the issue of abortion,” said Christine Robin, the president of Students for Life. “Statistically, most abortions happen between the ages of 18 to 24. That’s our age group. This is a big issue for our generation.”
The group meets regularly on campus to discuss and plan its events and discusses involvement opportunities both on and off campus.
One of the events the organization is currently planning is the Day of Silence. This event will take place on the EMU campus on Tuesday, Oct.18. Students will stand scattered around campus to hand out flyers in silence. This is only the second year Students for Life will have organized the event, but those who are involved are prepared.
“People were really nice last year,” said Dr. Alice Jo Rainville, the group’s faculty adviser. “Everyone was willing to take our information.”
Jeremy Seiler, one of the group’s members, said he learned about the group after last year’s Day of Silence.
The group also plans to publicize the event and itself with chalk drawings around campus.
“There’s chalk on the ground; people will read it,” Seiler said.
Another event the group is planning is a diaper drive for Family Life Services of Washtenaw County. The center provides pregnancy counseling and support for new mothers. Members of Students for Life plan to collect diapers to donate to the center.
“They’re the ones we’re trying to support the most,” said Greg Champion, the vice president of Students for Life.
The group is also looking at ways to coordinate projects with some of the other campus student groups. It is looking for cooperation from various campus organizations for events like the diaper drive, to have the biggest impact possible.
“We can’t do it all,” Champion said. “We’re here to change the culture on campus. The more we can do, the more we can change.”
Being a relatively new organization, Students for Life is still fairly small. Meetings have on average 5-10 students in attendance, according to Robin.
“We did see a pretty big push after the Day of Silence last year, though,” she said. “They have a Facebook page and are looking for other ways to increase membership.”
With a topic like abortion, there are bound to be intense opinions on both sides of the issue. EMU is home to a diverse community with many viewpoints. One student, Brittany Gross, has a negative view of groups like Students for Life.
“I would never join a group like that,” Gross said. “I feel like they’re too opinionated and close-minded.”
Robin has a different view.
“We’re not here to judge, or to start issues,” she said. “We’re here to help, not to be controversial or to offend people.”
