1. To educate, inform, and engage the men and women of Saint Louis University on important issues pertaining to the right to life.
2. To reach out to Saint Louis University students and the surrounding community to provide vital assistance to women dealing with crisis pregnancies or past abortions.
3. To increase the attendance of Saint Louis University students in the March for Life.
4. To increase communication between other pro-life organizations within our region and throughout the country.
5. To become one of the strongest college pro-life organizations in the state of Missouri.

Respect Life Week [Expand All] [Collapse All]

Cemetery of the Innocents

The largest project ever undertaken by Students for Life at Saint Louis University, the Cemetery of the Innocents was the pivotal project of the past year. Over the course of three weeks leading up to Respect Life Week in October 2006, members of Students for Life spent countless hours purchasing, cutting, stapling and gluing together more than 1,750 wooden crosses that would be displayed throughout the week in the heart of campus - the Quadrangle, one of the most prominent and highly visible locations on campus. Each cross represented two abortions that are performed daily in the United States. The Quadrangle sits beside DuBourg Hall, the primary administrative building on campus. As we began putting up the crosses, while they were displayed in the Quadrangle, and as we took them down, students frequently approached members of Students for Life and asked about the display. One student even commented that he would reconsider his pro-abortion stance because of the dramatic display. The crosses were packaged and stored to be reused by Students for Life groups for years to come. ↑

Pro-Life Statistics and Quotes Stake Signs

West Pine Mall, stretching from one end of campus to the other, is the main route for students, faculty, and staff at Saint Louis University. In an effort to inform, educate, and engage the university community, Students for Life created 50 large stake signs during Respect Life Week 2006 and placed them all along West Pine Mall. Information on the stakes ranged from fetal development facts to quotes by notable pro-life leaders to startling abortion statistics. ↑

Respect Life Week Residence Hall Bulletin Boards

Each residence hall floor on campus has at least two large bulletin boards in high traffic areas which are decorated by resident advisors to complement a floor theme or to advertise events. Students for Life decided to team up with resident advisors to take advantage of these highly visible boards during our Respect Life Week in October 2006. Students for Life members designed and created a standard set of materials which included a schedule of events for Respect Life Week, fetal development facts, our Now What? Crisis Pregnancy Pamphlet, local crisis pregnancy information, and our Students for Life Group Information Pamphlet. The materials were packaged and delivered to more than 25 different resident advisors across campus who the used the template to create the board on their floor. We later learned from a representative at the St. Louis Pregnancy Resource Center that a young woman from SLU had seen our Now What? pamphlet on one of the boards and visited because she thought she might be in a crisis pregnancy. ↑

Project Baby Bottle

Easily one of our favorite programs during Respect Life Week 2006, Project Baby Bottle raised nearly $300 for Our Lady's Inn Crisis Pregnancy Center. Members of Students for Life carried bottles to their classes, around their residential floors, into the dining halls, and anywhere else they could scrounge up some change. At the end of the week, members were amazed by how much we had raised; and soon afterwards, two members traveled to the Crisis Pregnancy Center to present the check on our behalf. The donation was part of an ongoing relationship between Students for Life and Our Lady's Inn. ↑

Respect Life Week Mass

Upwards of 1,000 students from across the university gather together for Mass every Sunday evening at 10:00pm in the College Church. The 10:00pm Mass was dedicated as the first event of Respect Life Week in October 2006. Not only were members of Students for Life gift bearers and collectors, but the upcoming week of events was previewed to the students in the weekly announcements near the end of Mass. ↑

Life Chain on Grand Boulevard and Laclede Street

The traffic intersection of Grand Boulevard and Laclede Street is one of the busiest near campus. At the beginning of Respect Life Week in October 2006, members of Students for Life courageously stood around the intersection for more than an hour with signs that said, "Abortion Hurts Women". ↑

On the Sanctity of Life by The Most Reverend Archbishop Raymond Burke

The keynote speaker of Respect Life Week in October 2006, Raymond Burke, Archbishop of St. Louis, was invited by Students for Life to speak on the sanctity of life and the important Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative facing voters in the November election. Following his excellent speech and a question and answer session, Archbishop Burke joined students in a blessing of the Cemetery of the Innocents. ↑

Stem Cell Research: A Moral and Medical Perspective

Featuring Fr. John Kavanaugh, S.J., Dr. Thomas Foy, and Dr. Frederick Sauer, this panel of doctors, scientists and moral philosophers examined the moral and medical implications of Amendment 2 in Missouri during Respect Life Week 2006. The audience was amazed at the deception in the amendment; attendees asked questions and made comments; and many felt it was one of the best programs they had been to in recent history. Fr. John Kavanaugh, S.J. received his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1971; and he is a philosophy professor and the Director of the Ethics Across the Curriculum program at Saint Louis University. He has frequently published on issues of consumerism, intrinsic value, and ethics of life. His newest book is entitled Who Counts As Persons: Human Identity and the Ethics of Killing (2001). A regular columnist for America magazine, he is also an award winning syndicated columnist. Frederick Sauer, Ph.D. received his B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University in 1993 and subsequently worked for three years as a research assistant at a biotechnology company in California. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology from Washington University in St Louis in 2002 and did postdoctoral research at Yale University School of Medicine. Thomas Foy, M.D. received his A.B. from the University of Missouri, Columbia 1974 and his M.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1978. He is an Associate Professor in the Saint Louis University Department of Pediatrics within the division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. ↑

Planned Parenthood Vigil

In one of the final events of Respect Life Week in October 2006, members of Students for Life and the Knights of Columbus traveled to Planned Parenthood on Saturday morning to pray and to council young men and women who were entering and leaving the center.↑

Our Lady's Inn Volunteer Day

Respect Life Week 2006 was directed towards not only students at Saint Louis University, but also those in the greater St. Louis community who needed our help the most. To culminate a successful week of events, members of Students for Life traveled to St. Charles, Missouri to volunteer at Our Lady's Inn Crisis Pregnancy Center. Our Lady's Inn is an emergency shelter for pregnant women in crisis, helping them to choose life for their unborn child. While there, members played with the kids, washed the community vehicles, painted and varnished, and spent a beautiful afternoon helping out in any way they could. ↑

March for Life [Expand All] [Collapse All]

March for Life

Saint Louis University is fortunate in that not only is it surrounded by a number of other colleges and universities, but it's also located on the eastern edge of Missouri through which one must travel to arrive in Washington, D.C. This year, like the March for Life in January 2005, Students for Life brought a wide range of students from Saint Louis University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri-Columbia and Truman State University. While in Washington, D.C. members of the Students for Life group tour the nation's capital; stay with host families from Gonzaga College High School and St. Peter Parish; attend the Cardinal O'Connor Conference on Life and Mass at the National Shrine; and participate in the March for Life. The journey is long and tiring, but students consistently rank it as their favorite event of the year. ↑

Pack the Buses March for Life Information Night and Free Trip Giveaway

In an effort to attract greater attention to the March for Life and to talk with students about why we travel to Washington, D.C., Students for Life held an exciting event at which we raffled off fun travel packs to bring on the long bus ride; provided snacks; displayed pictures of past trips; spoke about the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision; and sent a lucky student on the March for free! ↑

Outreach [Expand All] [Collapse All]

Students for Life Information Tables

Information tables are one of the most important things we do as a pro-life organization on a college campus. Our mission is to inform, educate, and engage students on pro-life issues, and there is no better place to do that than in the heart of a student center or main traffic-way on campus. Identity is important to any college organization, but especially to a pro-life organization that wants to touch as many students, faculty, and staff members as possible. Students for Life revolutionized the way we tabled this year. We never had a logo. We created one. We never had a table banner to identify our group. We made one. We didn't have any information to pass out to interested students. We designed and printed one. We didn't have t-shirts to identify ourselves and our message around campus. We made them. We stopped sitting behind the table and stood up in front of it. We passed out literature, spoke with students, and recruited new members. We tried to have a table somewhere on campus at least once a month, and during Respect Life Week we were out there almost every day. We believe that we can promote a culture of life at Saint Louis University, and we also believe that all it takes is one encounter with one person to change their life forever. Information tables are critical to Students for Life for the promotion of a culture of life. ↑

Students for Life Information Pamphlet

The first information pamphlet ever created by Students for Life at Saint Louis University, it explains the mission and philosophy of the organization, along with important information about membership, leadership, and meetings. It is used at information tables, given to interested members, and provided to members upon joining the organization. ↑

Now What? Crisis Pregnancy Pamphlet

Recognizing a lack of information for students who might find themselves in a crisis pregnancy, Students for Life created the crisis pregnancy pamphlet to be distributed at Saint Louis University. The pamphlet was given to the health and counseling center and is displayed at all of our information tables. ↑

Stop The Madness Mailbox Stuffing

A powerful pro-life publication, Stop The Madness presents a pro-life view on abortion and abstinence in a highly marketable, student friendly format. The cover is designed to generate curiosity about what's inside, and the solid pro-life information challenges students to reconsider their ideas about abortion, sex, and the humanity of the unborn. On two separate occasions, in May and October of 2006, Students for Life stuffed 3,000 student mailboxes with the publication. ↑

Missourian Against Human Cloning Mailbox Stuffing

In the fight to defeat the Missouri Stem Cell and Research Cures Initiative (Amendment 2), Students for Life stuffed 3,000 student mailboxes with a pamphlet entitled "Five Reasons to Vote NO on Amendment 2" at a critical time before the November 2006 election. ↑

Amendment 2 Debate - Students for Life vs. College Democrats

Invited by the Alpha Delta Pi sorority to participate in their voting educational forum, Students for Life debated the College Democrats on Stem Cell Research and Amendment 2 in front of more than 100 students in October 2006. Defending the life of the unborn from the moment of conception, and explaining that the amendment was meant to deceive Missouri voters and that its passage would have serious repercussions for women, Students for Life successfully defended the pro-life stance while engaging and educating college-aged voters. ↑

Blue and Pink Ribbon Tree Tying

Statistics show that for every four pregnancies, one child is aborted. For many, the statistic is nearly impossible to fathom. In an effort to remind the university community of the destruction of abortion, Students for Life tied large pink and blue ribbons to every tree along West Pine Mall to represent the children who were lost to abortion. The ribbons remained up for more than a week and elicited numerous questions from students. ↑

Women's History Month Residence Hall Bulletin Boards

Each residence hall floor has two or more large bulletin boards decorated by the resident advisors. In order to continue sharing the pro-life message in residence halls, Students for Life teamed up with resident advisors again during Women's History Month in March 2007. Students for Life members designed and created a standard set of materials which included a timeline of significant events in women's history and profiles of important women such as Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day, Norma McCorvey, Dr. Alveta King, Susan B. Anthony, Victoria Woodhall, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and Mattie Brinkhoff. The materials were packaged and delivered to more than 25 different resident advisors across campus who the used the template to create the bulletin board on their floor. ↑

Spring Break UNews article and Emergency Contraception Handbills

It is no secret that Planned Parenthood targets college-aged women. A clinic sits right down the street from the University, and right around Spring Break they start inundating the radio stations with emergency contraceptive commercials. To combat the Planned Parenthood advertisements, Students for Life wrote a lengthy article in the University News, the campus newspaper, encouraging students not to use emergency contraceptives. We also passed out 1,500 handbills warning students that these "contraceptives" are actually abortifacients. ↑

Service [Expand All] [Collapse All]

Baby Shower for Birthright St. Louis

There is no better way to celebrate than a party, so Students for Life decided to throw an informal baby shower that required attendees to bring at least one baby item for donation. We provided light refreshments, showed our baby items, and donated all of them to Birthright St. Louis. ↑

Make A Difference Day Operation Brightside

An annual event at Saint Louis University, Make A Difference Day is a national day of service and the largest community service effort in the nation. Students at Saint Louis University are placed at various volunteer sights throughout the city of St. Louis in an effort to foster growth in and commitment to the surrounding community. For the first time, Students for Life established their own volunteer site in October 2006, and members of the group and other university students spent an afternoon participating in this meaningful and enjoyable event. ↑

Our Lady's Inn Baby Shower

The Baby Shower at Our Lady's Inn was one of the more anticipated events of the year. A small committee of members planned the event for nearly 20 women. They sought donations from restaurants, local spas, and students on campus, collected items from various locations on campus, and purchased wonderful items for the to-be mothers. Cake and other refreshments were provided while members played with the mothers' kids in the basement. ↑

Our Lady's Inn Service Day

Members made their second service trip of the year to Our Lady's Inn in April to provide additional hands for Spring Cleaning efforts inside the house. Our Lady's Inn is an emergency shelter for pregnant women in crisis, helping them to choose life for their unborn child. ↑

Fundraising [Expand All] [Collapse All]

Run for Their Lives

Students for Life attempted to do something it had never done before when it organized a 5K Run/Walk to raise money for local crisis pregnancy centers: Our Lady's Inn, Birthright, and the Pregnancy Resource Center. Members called donors, fundraised, laid out the 5K course, rented timing equipment, and ordered t-shirts. They also organized an online registration page and distributed awards after the very successful run and walk. Overall, Students for Life raised nearly $1,800 to split among the three organizations. The hope of Students for Life is to sponsor the same run every year to establish an academic scholarship for a woman who finds herself pregnant while a student at Saint Louis University. ↑

Relay for Life

Students for Life assembled its first Relay for Life team with nearly ten participants. Students for Life Relayers had their own tent, ran around the track throughout the night, and raised money for cancer research and the American Cancer Society. ↑

Spring Fever Concert Funnel Cake Stand

In one of its biggest fundraisers of the year, Students for Life provided Spring Fever concert attendees with $3 funnel cakes and nachos. A core group of members worked throughout the evening beneath the Students for Life tent to answer the large demand. This fundraiser was extremely successful, and it was a lot of fun! ↑

Cold Stone Creamery Fundraiser

The Cold Stone Creamery store on Brentwood Boulevard offered student organizations the opportunity to invite members and other supporters to the store for a fundraiser. If a member or supporter ordered ice cream and presented a special coupon at the time of purchase, 25% of the total went directly to Students for Life. This fundraiser was relatively successful. ↑

Even more! [Expand All] [Collapse All]

Special Olympics

In April ten members of Students for Life participated in the Special Olympics Spring Games at Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton, Missouri. Each of our members was matched with a Special Olympics participant from the Lincoln County Roadrunners. Members escorted them to different activities, cheered them at their events, ate lunch with them, and provided them with a buddy throughout the day. ↑

Amendment 2 Rosary Vigil for Life

Gathered together in a small residence hall chapel, members of Students for Life, Knights of Columbus, and Daughters of Isabella, along with other students, held a Rosary Vigil for Life and Eucharistic Adoration on the eve of the November 2006 elections. ↑

Christopher West Chastity Presentation

In February a small group of Students for Life members attended a chastity presentation by Christopher West, a research fellow and faculty member at Theology of the Body Institute and one of the most sought-after speakers in the United States. It took place at the Cardinal Rigali Center in St. Louis. There members were able to listen to his presentation, ask questions, and collect material to be read and distributed. ↑

Media [Expand All] [Collapse All]

First Collegiate Pro-Life Group Recognized by National Pro-Life Radio

National Pro-Life Radio is a new broadcast platform spotlighting everything that is taking place in the global movement to restore human dignity and respect for every human being on the planet. The hosts include award-winning celebrities; civil rights leaders; physicians; award winning performers from film, stage, and television; community activists; journalists and reporters; singers and dancers; and members of the clergy. In November 2006, the President and Vice President of Students for Life were invited onto Face the Truth, hosted by Steven Peroutka. Students for Life was the first pro-life group featured in a series of ongoing interviews with college and university pro-life groups. ↑

Students for Life of America Featured Group of the Week

Students for Life of America, the nation's oldest pro-life organization dedicated wholly to educating college students about the medical and ethical issues of abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide, highlighted Students for Life at Saint Louis University as the featured group in their November 13, 2006 newsletter. "Meet Me in St. Louis" ↑

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SLU Outstanding Organization 2006-2007

Evangelium Vitae 2007

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Student Government Association Organization of the Week