Standing outside on one of the coldest days of the year with thousands of people you don’t know doesn’t seem like something many people would want to do. When those people realize they are being a positive change in the world, however, none of that matters anymore.
32 students have signed up for the event. Respect Life Club moderator Christopher Yeung has received a lot of feedback from his students.
“There is a lot of buzz from the students. I started by making just 100 permission slips for the 60 spots on the bus and at the rally, but I have had to keep copying more forms as the interest has been more than I anticipated,” Yeung said.
The trip has expressed so much interest that “we may have to add another bus,” Yeung said.
Respect Life Club assistant moderator Marc Bolden is also thrilled with the students’ involvement in the trip. “A lot of my students are going on the trip,” Bolden said.
This will be Bolden’s first time going, and he is excited to experience the March and rally.
Though senior Nick Henninger, Respect Life Club President, has gone on the March before, he has never been to the rally. “I’m excited about the rally, it’s something new that I haven’t experienced before. I think it will have a positive effect on the community,” Henninger said.
The March itself only lasts about 20 to 30 minutes, while the rally lasts for four hours. The Rally for Life includes a rally, confessions, praying of the rosary, and a mass.
“Instead of attending a Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift concert at the Verizon Center, we are going to Mass and worshipping God Himself,” Respect Life Club assistant moderator Rachel Harkins said.
From the rally, the students will go to the March. Students, along with thousands of other pro-life people, will march to the U.S. Supreme Court Building, carrying signs and chanting.
Junior Thomas Gardner, who attended the March last year with former moderator Daniel Briggs, is excited to be able to go again, with students from the entire school. “The movement is more popular within the school [this year],” Gardner said.
Sophomore Kaley Martin is overjoyed to be going for the first time. “I’m really excited to go out and support a cause that I feel strongly about with other people who believe in the same things I do,” Martin said.
Harkins has been going to the March since she was a toddler, and has loved participating.
“I’ll never forget marching up Capitol Hill with some of my best friends and chanting ‘Roe vs. Wade has got to go.’ Then, we all got back on the bus, drove back to school and went to class the next day barely keeping our eyes open,” Harkins said.
“Human life is our greatest gift from God and to see young people cheering, smiling, and joyfully proclaiming that message is powerful,” Harkins said.
Ashley Beyer is a Lifestyles Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.