Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron, Ashley Judd, Julianne Moore, Janeane Garofalo, Christina Aguilera and Howard Dean will all be just 30 minutes away from Homewood this Sunday to take part in one of the largest pro-choice marches in history.
"We are gearing up, all forces are go ahead," said Evelyn Becker, deputy communications director for the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL).
NARAL Pro-Choice America is one of the main organizations involved in the Pro-Life March, which will be held in Washington, D.C. The march officially starts at noon, but thousands of volunteers will be pouring in at 8 a.m. The march is expected to have a turnout of close to a million people. The last large march organized for pro-choice was in 1992.
"It is not our mother's march," said Becker. "Now we have so many more ways of spreading the word - we couldn't have done this in 1992."
One of the main differences between now and then is the use of technology.
"The Internet has helped to make this march huge," said sophomore Caitlin Prier, a representative for NARAL on the Homewood campus.
According to Becker, the main goal of the march is to send a unified message to government officials.
"We will not let our sentimental rights be taken away," she said.
"I feel like it won't have a direct impact on the current presidency but certainly for the future ones," said sophomore Christine Krueger, president of the JHU College Democrats.
Junior Sarah Golub, a sophomore attending the march, agrees. "I think the march will at least cause people to pay attention," she said. "It will definitely raise awareness."
Hopkins will have its own delegation at the march. Originally four buses were scheduled to leave from Hopkins, but now fewer will be going.
"I think a lot of people would have wanted to go, but with Spring Fair, and a pending chem. test, students aren't able to make it," said Krueger.
"It would be nice if more people went, but because it is Hopkins, there is always so much to do, creating a conflict of interest for students. However, with all of the IR majors, it is surprising that there is such a lack of political concern," said Golub.
Krueger suggests that Hopkins students may not be attending because of a misunderstanding of the definition of pro-choice.
"If you are pro-choice, you aren't necessarily for abortion," she says. "In fact, a large number of pro-choice people aren't for abortion but for choice at least. As a Catholic, I was always pro-life, but recently changed my views to pro-choice. After learning more about pro-choice with all of the reading available, I've discovered that actually I am for a woman's right to choose but do not necessarily think abortion is appropriate."
Although there isn't an overwhelming amount of Hopkins students who are planning to attend, NARAL still expects a nice showing in D.C.
"I don't think that Hopkins is as much conservative as apathetic," said Krueger. "Many just don't have the time or just don't care to get involved."
NARAL representatives have worked all year to gain student interest and spark activism. They started in the fall with a display of hundreds of bent coat hangers on the upper quad (some women who cannot afford abortions illegally use coat hangers to abort the fetus). The group has also advertised all over campus and had a NARAL speaker come in the fall. The group has also helped to organize buses into D.C. and provide reserved metro tickets.
According to Williams and Prier, they will need around six thousand volunteers handing out pins and water to the large crowd.
With such a controversial topic, there will be much opposition from pro-life groups. Still, people do not seem to be concerned, due to the massive amount of pro-choice participants.
"There will be people flying in from all over the country," said Becker.
"The anti-choice supporters will not even come close to the number of pro-choice marchers. It is not like people are going to fly in from California to break up the march," said Williams.
Compared with the few hundred thousand in 1992 and the expected million now, the pro-life march is one that will certainly make a statement. Planning for the event started a year ago and was one that involved "a lot of hard work and determination," according to Becker.
"It will make it a reelection year issue, just as it helped Clinton in 1992," said Prier.
For tickets, contact either Sarah Williams at sarahw@jhu.edu or Caitlin Prier at Kurlyqz12@aol.com.
