They posted flyers about the Day of Silence. They didn’t organize a formal gathering or meet up, but members of the Students for Life club quietly reflected and pinned socks to their backpacks Tuesday, Oct. 15.
“We all got baby socks and put a piece of red tape on them that said ‘life.’ It was kind of to be a symbol of what we were doing, something people could ask us about throughout the day. Just like a physical sign of what we were doing,” said Anna Green, president of Students for Life.
Green said the vow of silence is to remember every child is valuable and opens the grounds for discussion about abortion.
“We believe that every child from the moment of conception has worth and is valuable and so many babies are aborted before they have a chance to speak. So, we took a vow of silence for a day to honor that and be in solidarity with them,” she said.
Green still kept the baby sock pinned to her backpack for a few days. Green said Students for Life is trying to create a campus culture of life and to give women a place to be able to choose life.
Green said she got into Students for Life because she has always been conscious about the life around her.
When she learned about the concept of abortion in middle school, Green said it did not make sense to her because she sees life in the fetus without a question.
Vicky Dilone, vice president of Students for Life, said the group’s mission is to foster a culture of life.
The group is also against suicide and assisted suicide, but these are not the group’s main focus, Dilone said.
“We believe in human dignity, the right to live and that every human has rights,” Dilone said.
Other events the group hosts are a once-a-month “coffee and conservation” at Bucer’s. Dilone said this event is aimed at people who may be interested in learning more but might not want to go to a formal meeting.
The group also holds a protest outside of Planned Parenthood in Pullman each month, Dilone said.
She said the group wants to show support for women and that they do not plan to shout or “sidewalk counsel” the women going in.
October is the first month the group has done this protest and Dilone said she hopes it will continue.
The group is also in the beginning of plans to work with the university to get more baby changing stations installed in bathrooms around campus, Dilone said.
Green said the group is working on a proposal to send to the university in order to learn what safety requirements are needed.
Green said this is a slow-moving project and she expects it to take a year to complete.
The group is focusing on women’s and family bathrooms at first, Green said, because they are restricted by funding.
“We would love to implement more changing tables on campus, and just supporting that culture of life. We want women to see that it’s OK to have a child on campus and that’s not shunned,” Green said.
Kali Nelson can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @kalinelson6