COLU M B I A | On Campus
Defending Life on Campus
S T U D E N T O R G A N I Z AT I O N U N D E T E R R E D B Y O P P O S I T I O N
By Nathan Barlow, Columbia ’20
C
and a debate on physician-assisted
suicide with Columbia’s Medical
School in the spring. As always, CRTL
members will assemble with hundreds
of thousands of pro-life activists at
the annual March for Life in Wash-
ington, D.C. in January.
It’s a challenging cause to take up
on a college campus, but Columbia
Right to Life is doing its best to trans-
form culture. Hurley finds hope in
the day-to-day interactions and duties
of her position.
“The most hopeful thing is when
Columbia Right to Life at the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
we get a student to rethink his or her
position on abortion or any other life
issues, or even just to admit to us that
we made a good point when discuss-
ing the matter,” she says. “It also gives
us hope when we have respectful di-
alogue with our fellow students; even
if they do not agree or give in at all,
it is always refreshing to have good
conversations with our peers.”
For more information on Columbia
Right to Life, visit www.columbiartl.
org. | cu
2
Hurley views the pro-life cause as
one that “is (or should be) central to
Christian moral philosophy.” Though
the club is secular, many of its mem-
bers are devout Christians. CRTL
seems like a natural ally for campus
ministries, but participation from
students in Christian organizations
has been discouraging at times. In past
years, CRTL has hosted joint sessions
with campus ministries about how to
conduct pro-life dialogue with secu-
lar peers, but Hurley notes that at-
tendance was usually low.
olumbia Right to Life weds the
university’s penchant for activ-
ism with an unpopular, but critical,
social cause.
The secular student advocacy or-
ganization “seeks to create construc-
tive dialogue around life issues on
Columbia University’s campus.”
Although the mission is challeng-
ing at times, the organization’s pres-
ident, Caroline Hurley ’19, is
encouraged by growth over the last
five years and the commitment of its
members. Columbia Right to Life
(CRTL) meets every Tuesday in Le-
rner Hall.
“In 2012, there were only two
dedicated members. This year, we
probably have 15 dedicated members
cycling through the meeting room
every week,” Hurley said.
While it cultivates a core group of
members, CRTL also focuses on en-
gaging the campus on the club’s cen-
tral issues: abortion, euthanasia, and
capital punishment. Several times a
year CRTL sets up a table in the stu-
dent center and engages passersby
about life issues.
The pro-life students face an ex-
pected amount of opposition, but
according to Hurley, “We get a lot of
people to agree that they can see the
reason beyond the pro-life argument,
and we get a lot less hate on campus
when people realize we are not crazy
ideological zealots. Our biggest chal-
lenge is ignorance and misinforma-
tion.”
Along with tabling, CRTL will
host a speaking event this semester
39