Members of the St. Bonaventure University student body and SBU for Life club boarded one of the St. Bonaventure vans on Jan. 21 and headed to Washington, D.C., prepared for a six-hour walk
Hundreds of thousands of supporters gathered Jan. 22. in Washington, D.C. for the 42nd March for Life, a protest against abortion legislation in Congress. The typical trademark of this rally is protest signs flooding the vicinity of the National Mall. Although the event is usually associated with a Christian creed, the March for Life is intended to call upon pro-lifers of all backgrounds, races and ages.
“You see mainly groups of high school kids, middle school kids, and a lot of college-age students,” Hannah Schaefer, a freshman international studies major, said.
Schaefer added that many signs read, “we are the pro-life generation,” and interest in the movement seems to be shifting towards today’s youth.
Schaefer, alongside ten other St. Bonaventure students, joined Father Peter Schneible, O.F.M. on the trip as part of the SBU for Life club. While Schaefer has attended the event before and was eager to attend again, many others, such as Natalie Wasek, were joining the march for their first time.
“This being my first year, I had never experienced anything like it,” Wasek, a freshman acccounting major, said. It was incredible- the sheer amount of people that were there for the same reason.”
Wasek added that the event gave her a sense of faith knowing that there are other people who are passionate about the march.
The first morning, at St. Camillus’s Church in Silver Springs, Maryland, the group prepared themselves for a day of peaceful protesting. This service was followed by numerous speeches from both political and spiritual advocators. Then the group paraded through the National Mall and ended outside of the Supreme Court Building. The ending destination was far from coincidental. Wasek explained that the marchers chose to end their protest there so that people were encouraged to rally their Senators to change their feelings on the situation.
While the March for Life is an influential event, both politically and personally, one of the facets of the event that makes it so inspiring is the diversity of the masses who attend. Protesters range from diverse backgrounds, each contributing their own perspectives and attitudes to the movement.
Wasek said that aside from the mixed collection of attendees, there were people selling signs on the street corner, one of which read “Stop abortion now” on the front and “We are the voice for the voiceless” on the back. The carefully selected words on the sign are far from insignificant; this sign represents the common belief among pro-life advocates that human beings do not have the right to decide the fate of an unborn child.
Aside from the abundant diversity present at the march, many outside influences impacted the convention, including Pope Francis, who had a letter read aloud at the convention and tweeted throughout the day. The head of the Catholic Church took to Twitter to support the march in his absence tweeting, “Every Life is a Gift. #marchforlife.”
Despite the long hours the Bonnies spent traveling to and from the march, both Schaefer and Wasek are confident that it was all worth it.
“It’s important to stand up for things you support,” Schaefer said. “Having opinions and supporting them contributes to your character and outlook on life.”
mcgurllt14@bonaventure.edu
