By Nia Mwangi
Cru for Life is in its third year after being shut down after the COVID-19 pandemic. The club aims to educate students about pro-life issues such as abortion. The club meets at Hardy Hall in room 153 every Tuesday at 5 p.m. They discuss different abortion procedures and end every meeting with a Bible study. They also participate in a community service project at Hope Pregnancy Center each semester.
During their third meeting of the year, co-leader Ali Steadman and social media manager Kara Pond kicked off the meeting with two videos related to abortion before opening the meeting for a discussion amongst the club. Most of the members of the club spoke up during this discussion, including freshman Autumn Reeves.
Later, Nick Neal spoke on the matter from his perspective.
鈥淔rom a male perspective, it was kind of hard to perceive the idea of pregnancy and abortion, especially since I can't even imagine what they go through,鈥� Neal said. 鈥淏ut when I was being told about it and influenced by amazing people who believe in pro-life, I saw that pregnancy isn't just a woman thing. It's a 50-50 thing. A man has as much responsibility as a woman does when it comes to pregnancy. For the longest time, I thought men had no say such as this, but my eyes have been opened through pro-life and I think a bunch of men just need to hear how it's not just a woman鈥檚 job. It's a unity.鈥�
According to Steadman, the club is succeeding more than it was the previous year.
鈥淟ast year we were a Bell County organization off-campus,鈥� Steadman said. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have as many people since it was harder to recruit, especially students, because of the commute to the meeting location further away. Since we鈥檙e now back on campus, we鈥檝e been able to recruit more members and we鈥檒l be able to host more events.鈥�
Steadman and Pond stated that it is hard for people to come to their meetings due to the time that they meet but will change the meeting time if necessary.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still trying to form a more solid plan of events for the fall,鈥� Steadman said. 鈥淲e are going to do a volunteer day at Hope Pregnancy Center in Temple in October. We also have a few ideas for fundraising events, and since October is Respect Life month, I also plan on doing a prayer walk/worship night around campus!鈥�
Even with the challenges of getting more people in their meetings, Cru for Life is gradually getting more members and has a vision for the future.
