Members of the pro-life organization on the K-State campus set up the "Cemetery of Innocents" on a rainy April morning, as part of a week long effort to bring the pro-life message to the campus. Each cross represents 10 children killed by abortion each day in the United States.

Patrick Ptomey speaks with K-State student Lori Yaussi at a display in the student union.

K-State student Heidi Coon examines a display of babies at various stages of development in the womb.

K-State students stand up for life

By Paula Glover
MANHATTAN – Each spring, the KSU Students for the Right to Life hosts a series of events geared to engaging fellow students in discussion about life issues.
“The Cemetery of Innocents is my favorite,” said Janet Peak from Scammon, “because you can see visually how many abortions are performed each year.” The cemetery is an instillation of 360 crosses that represent 10 lives lost due to the average 3,600 abortions that occur every day in the U.S. “People will stop by. It is eye-opening to see the crosses and see what they represent.”
The group is spear-headed by Patrick Ptomey, a landscape architecture student from Dallas, Texas.
“I was raised a Catholic, but I also did research on the topic,” Ptomey said, explaining how he came to a strong pro-life stance. “I’d heard opinions on both sides, but I did the research to determine how I felt about the issue.”
Being a college student, even in Kansas, means that many people are liberal in their abortion views. However, he said the support for the pro-life stance is “better than you would think.”
One of the activities the group does during their week-long event is to post a board, asking people to weight in if they are Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. Ptomy said that most of the views expressed were pro-life, but that could very well be due to the self-choosing nature people who would appraoch a board. He said frequently, students have come over to the displays for some discussion, but it is generally civil.
“We might get some laughing and eye rolling,” Ptomy acknowledged. “But we want the events to be aimed at the student body as a whole, to try to reach everyone.”
Other events during the week included adoption awareness, the screening of the film “Bella,” and a display on fetal development, which included a poll on “how do you define when life begins.” In contrast to previous years, the results were totally at fertilization. Ptomy said usually there is a wide range of opinions from fertilization to birth.
Peak said that she was raised a Catholic and has maintained her faith as a member of St. Isadore’s, the parish for the university.
“Pro-life is the way my parents raised me,” she said. Her activities have included trips to the March for Life in Washington D.C., and the Topeka March For Life.
Lori Yaussi, a student from Wichita, visited the booth to vote on when life begins, adding her vote for fertilization.
“Education is important to understand there are other options aside from abortion,” she said. “People are pressured to make bad choices, and it is important to get the word out about what their options are.”
Katherine Wartell, a journalism student, chose to do a story on pro-life activism as part of an advanced news writing class. She is pro-choice, and she said she was surprised that pro-life activism took on so many forms, from marching to supporting adoption agencies, and providing education.
“There are stereotypes on both sides,” she said. “But doing this story has made me more open minded about different opinions.”
For more information about the Students for the Right to Life, go to www.KSUStudents4Life.weebly.com

Published in the Salina Catholic Register