Outside the UC on Thursday, 18-year-old Alex Scott, president of Tigers for Life, stood alongside Alejandro Capote, regional coordinator for Students for Life of America, handing out rape whistles and flyers on rape, consent and abortion.
Scott explained why they chose to hand out this information to students on their way to class.
“We are out here today trying to raise awareness on sexual assault and how to help the survivors of sexual assault,” Scott said. “We are trying to come out in a loving a way and teach people why they should chose life.”
Two weeks ago, freshmen Alex Scott came up with the idea of creating a RSO called Tigers for Life. Since then, the club has grown to 25 members.
Tigers for Life is an anti-abortion group on campus that is focused on informing people on abortion issues and educating women about what to do in the event of an unplanned pregnancy.
Scott wanted to make sure that people understand the definition of consent. She believes that consent to have sex should be a definite yes.
“The definition of consent is not the absence of no, but the presence of yes,” Scott said.
Scott was joined and supported by Alejandro Capote of Students for Life of America, a nonprofit anti-abortion organization that is currently on a nationwide tour called the We Care Tour.
The We Care Tour has reached out to over 800 anti-abortion organizations across the nation according to Capote.
Capote said that their main goal for supporting anti-abortion organizations like Tigers for Life is to teach young college students like Alex how to use the right dialogue when it comes to speaking about sensitive topics like rape and abortion.
“You do not have to be pressured into having an abortion if you are raped,” Capote said. “We are here to help you.”
The We Care Tour has been to 12 campuses around the nation raising awareness about rape and consent. Capote said the tour’s main goal is to “break the silence” on rape as a taboo topic. He spoke about why this issue is such a passion of his and why it hits close to home.
“In my life, my mother has had abortions, and now she knows the trauma of abortions,” Capote said. “That has pushed me to raise awareness on the issue.”
Tigers for Life and Students for Life of America not only handed out flyers, but also had banners that explained the resources and websites that are available to women who undergo an unplanned pregnancy.
Some resources include rainn.org, victimofcrime.org and safehorizon.org. Women can visit these websites to be referred to specialists that can provide victims with counseling when dealing with rape and unplanned pregnancies.
Stephanie Parker, University of Memphis alumnus, came to support Scott and Tigers for Life because she believes there needs to be a dialogue about abortion.
“I am really excited to see a pro-life group on campus because there was not one when I was a student here,” Parker said. “There is no doubt in my mind that a life will be saved because of this group on campus.”
