It’s a phrase most of us are familiar with: YOLO, or You Only Live Once.
“It’s something we say all the time, but if you stop and think about it, you really only have one life,” Arts & Sciences sophomore Christian Andreen, the president of Creighton Students for Life, said. “Everyone only has one life. It’s the most important gift a person ever receives and I believe every person – whether they might suffer from Downs Syndrome, are dying in a hospital bed and considering euthanasia, or are occupying death row – deserves a chance to open that great gift.”
Creighton University’s Creighton Students for Life is a student organization comprised of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors who, according to the organization’s mission statement, are “dedicated to educating its members, the campus and the community on the value of every human life in all stages.”
“Creighton Students for Life really tries to foster that greater respect for life and the culture of life,” Arts & Sciences sophomore Jack Dingbaum said.
According to Andreen, the organization is active. It brings speakers to campus, participates in pro-life community service and this year they displayed shoes on the steps of St. John’s Church.
“We displayed empty shoes to represent one-fourth of our peers who are missing from the planet because they were never born,” Andreen said.
In addition, the group goes to Bellevue every Friday morning to pray outside of an abortion clinic, an activity that is powerful to Dingbaum.
“We just stand on the sidewalk and pray the rosary for all the women and their unborn children going into the clinic, for the workers of the clinic and for the abortionists, just that God may really touch them and that they may respond to His grace,” he said.
Another big and exciting event for Creighton Students for Life is the March for Life held in Washington D.C. every year. A group from Creighton Students for Life is sent to D.C. for this event, and Dingbaum was one of those students this past year.
“It’s really an amazing experience because the protest is very peaceful and it’s filled with songs and prayer and people are very joyful in the midst of all this evil,” Dingbaum said. “It’s also inspiring to see the amount of young people there and being in solidarity with them.”
Andreen said she loves Creighton Students For Life because she has made many friends who share her pro-life beliefs, but she also finds it “truly amazing and inspiring to meet people who have been working in the movement since Roe vs. Wade in 1973.”
For Dingbaum, it is more about the service and movement toward social justice.
“I really admire Creighton for how much they stand up for social justice and for all these ideas of service that are rooted in the faith,” Dingbaum said. “I believe that it all begins with life. If you’re not born, there’s no need for social justice. So I think that it’s very important to keep in mind when we’re going out and doing these works of social justice and these works of service to remember that it all begins with respect for life and we can build from that.”
For those interested in becoming a part of Creighton Students for Life, Andreen encourages them to join the “Creighton Students for Life” group on Facebook.