I am pro-life.

This means I am against abortion. This means I am against the death penalty. This means before supporting a war, I must be assured that it is just and necessary. This means I understand the plight of the immigrant. This means I will do whatever I can to supply health care for the disadvantaged. This means that neither money, nor power, nor social standing, nor economic condition can justify disrespect for human life, from the moment it is conceived to the moment it naturally ends.

I am pro-life, in every sense of the term. However, I am at odds with the group “Students for Life” here on campus, and after looking at their plans for this week, I have no respect for “Respect Life Week”.

Take a good look at the schedule of this week’s events. Monday: Protecting unborn children. Tuesday: Anti-abortion movie night. Wednesday: Rosary for the unborn. Thursday: Planned Parenthood vigil. Saturday: Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Now, take a good look at the written objectives of “Students for Life,” easily found on their website: “Objective 1: To educate, inform and engage the men and women of Saint Louis University on important issues pertaining to the right to life.”

“Important issues”? Plural? Looks like a pretty singular and closed-minded schedule of events.

If “Students For Life” would follow the objectives listed in their own mission statement (also found on their website), they would be ashamed of the so-called “Respect Life Week” schedule. They lack any presentation on protecting minorities from gang-violence, or protecting women from rape. They lack the movie night centered on the atrocities of unjust war and the millions of innocent deaths that result from them. They lack a rosary for the poor and the marginalized who can’t afford health care, and can’t help themselves. They lack a vigil dedicated to ending the use of capital punishment, and stopping government-sanctioned killing.

These are important issues that need to be addressed. They deal directly with respect for human life, and they are inextricably linked to our mission as a Jesuit institution. When will you “educate, inform and engage” me on these important issues? They very clearly pertain to respect for life.

Clearly, “Students for Life” needs to make a change. Here are my recommendations:

One: Change the name of the organization. “Students for Life” they are not; “Students Against Abortion” seems more appropriate. Here’s a catchy one: Anti-Abortion Alliance. Just call yourselves “Triple A”.

Two: Change the name of your events. Don’t call it “Respect Life Week” if you completely disregard every person that has already come out of the womb. On average, there’s something like 76 years of life you’re forgetting.

Three: Change your mission statement, and your statement of objectives. Take the “s” out of “important issues”. If you’re not going to live up to them, they need to be changed, or you need to be questioned.

Four: Please, stop misleading SLU students. This can be achieved by simply heeding the advice in numbers one to three. Don’t call yourself “Students for Life,” and don’t call your events “Respect Life Week,” and don’t make grand statements about covering all the issues when you clearly have a singular focus. Say what you are. Market yourself accordingly.

That being said, many of these events can be very beneficial. I would personally invite every SLU student to make time in his or her schedule to attend these events, and to take into serious consideration what he or she will learn. Just know before you go-these events are about respecting the unborn, not about respecting all human life.

Chris Ackels is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences.