Student wants to make documentary on abortion
Joseph Irvine has made it his personal goal to raise American awareness on abortion this summer. “I am pro-life. I want to try to help more people understand exactly what abortion is, what goes on and what the mentality behind that process is. The rate is decreasing, and there is a positive movement using the media and advertising,” said Irvine, sophomore majoring in management information systems. “I don’t necessarily want to change Washington, so I am not trying to make it illegal. I am just trying to touch people and present a persuasive argument as to why abortion should be avoided at all costs with a few exceptions such as rape, incest and the health of the mother. “We are so mortified by what happened in WWII with the Nazi party and the slaughtering of 6 million Jews, and yet there are 3,700 people who die each day through abortion, and that’s over 40 million in the past century,” he said. “This a huge problem. It’s a genocide of unbelievable proportions that people choose to ignore for their own convenience.” Irvine said he takes the “personal approach that this is a holocaust, an American holocaust” and would like to make a documentary about it. “A holocaust by definition is any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life, and that’s the angle I want to take. I would like to see the title used to be, ‘Holocaust in America,’ because that’s what I believe it is,” he said. Irvine received the Truman Fellowship, which requires political experience and a project, and had initially intended to turn this endeavor into the project, but said, “It is such a large project and something that I feel so deeply about, so it’s become a personal project that I want to do.” Irvine said he is in contact with pro-life groups and is working on campus with professor Richard Sherlock of the philosophy department. He said there are also five to t10 interested students, and he would like any additional help he can get. Irvine said his main goal is to get people engaged in abortion discussions. He said, “I want to present some opinions that are highly controversial and then have people discuss them with each other and come to their own conclusions about what’s right and wrong.” This isn’t the first time Irvine has set out to raise awareness, he said. “I have done similar projects of a large scope. I have worked a little with global starvation as well,” he said. “Twenty-five thousand individuals die each day with global starvation, but its a horribly complex issue, and I haven’t gotten very far. I have worked on it, but it’s not something that can be done simply and needs more expertise and skills than I currently have.” Irvine said some people would say these goals are too lofty, but he believes anyone is capable of doing something they set their mind to. “My favorite quote is by Maryanne Williamson: ‘Our worst fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure.’ People want to think that they are inadequate, that it gives them a good shelter, but I soley believe that we are powerful beyond measure, and that we can do this. It is a very achievable goal.” To students who have similar goals, Irvine said, “Remember Don Quixote and the impossible dream. I believe that you should dream the impossible dream, reach for the unreachable star, march into hell with a heavenly cause, and go whole heartedly into it. What you don’t know you will learn along the way.” If students want to get involved in Irvine’s project, they can reach him at Joseph.Irvine@aggiemail.usu.edu. He said any help is appreciated.-lindsay.anderson@aggiemail.usu.edu