At 7 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, 94 individuals will depart from Saint Louis University via two charter buses and embark upon a journey that will take them clear across the United States. The reason compelling this group to forego their normal course of action on a Saturday morning is to participate in the March for Life in Washington, D.C.
This group consists mainly of students involved with SLU’s chapter of Students for Life, along with five students representing the Washington University chapter and three SLU faculty members. The group will arrive at its first stop at Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, W.Va., on Saturday.
On Sunday, Jan. 20, they will move on to Baltimore where they will stay in the homes of families of the Holy Family parish throughout the remainder of the trip. The group will drive to Washington, D.C. on Monday, Jan. 21 and have the chance to tour the city and visit the Holocaust Museum. They will attend the Solemn Mass for Life at the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. on Monday as well.
Tuesday, Jan. 22, is the day of the actual March. There will be speeches throughout the day starting at noon, and the March itself will take between two and four hours, depending on one’s position in the March. The protesters will begin at the Washington Monument and will proceed along Constitution Avenue toward the Capital Building.
The group from SLU will be joined by student groups from other Jesuit universities, such as John Carroll University from Cleveland, Wheeling Jesuit University, Spring Hill College from Mobile, Ala. and Georgetown University from the Washington, D.C. area. The SLU group will leave Washington, D.C. on Tuesday evening and expect to return to St. Louis on Wednesday morning.
The March for Life is held on Tuesday, Jan. 22 because that day marks the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that essentially legalized abortion.
“I think it’s crucial to participate in the March for Life. I feel that it is a work of justice. The Church calls for everyone to work for justice. The unborn need someone to speak for them because they cannot defend themselves; they are really truly voiceless,” said Barney Barry, S.J., one of the faculty members attending the March for Life.
As controversial as the topic of abortion is, the March for Life is widely touted as one of the largest peaceful protests in the country, and many people believe that this absence of violence is what makes the March so more meaningful.
Janelle Decker, a sophomore involved in Students for Life who attended the March last year and will participate this year as well, is one of the many individuals who agrees with the importance of the protest remaining nonviolent. “You get a chill when you turn around and see thousands of people marching together nonviolently for a cause that they all believe in; it’s just so powerful,” Decker said.
“The March for Life is a positive way for [protesters] to show our support for life. [Creating] absolutely no violence shows that the people creating violence in the name of pro-life are not the real pro-lifers. [The real pro-lifers] respect life at all stages and for all causes, whether it is a doctor, a child or a mother,” said sophomore Chad Koehnke,
co-president of SLU’s chapter of Students for Life. This year will be the second time Koehnke, a sophomore, has participated in the March for Life with SLU, though he was actively involved in the pro-life movement before attending SLU.
The students attending the March for Life relied on donations from various SLU organizations, fund-raising efforts and assistance from Campus Ministry. As a result of their work and the help of others, the cost for participating in the March is $65. There are a few more spots available for the trip, so those who are interested in attending should contact Koehnke at 977-4526.
