Frequently Asked Questions

Life Defenders is a camp for pro-life high-school students who want to learn how to defend their beliefs, discover other pro-life issues emerging in our society, and build a community of like-minded peers.

Camp is for high school students, so you would have graduated 8th grade prior to camp starting. We do also allow students who have just graduated high school the year of camp.

Yes, but only in a chaperone capacity. If you are 21 or older, you can apply to be a chaperone. Unfortunately, individuals aged 19-20 who have graduated high school generally cannot be chaperones. Chaperones attend for free, get lodging and meals, and are able to sit in on all the classes. Please see the chaperone question section below for more details.

Yes, all students sign a code of conduct as part of the registration process. This is to ensure a safe, respectful, and comfortable environment for all our attendees. You can find a copy of it here: [have link to CoC PDF]

We often have scholarships available for students who need them. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please email Phoebe@ichooselife.org to receive the scholarship application form.

Payment is due the same day that registration closes. Unless you have communicated with the event coordinator about a payment plan to pay in installments or about a scholarship, the full registration fee would be due at that time. If you have not paid by the deadline, and if there hasn't been communication between you and the event coordinator, you can be dropped from the camp roster. If you have already paid, and a medical issue or family emergency comes up last-minute, a refund can be granted.

Yes, it is. We do not separate male and female students in class or during mealtimes and activities. However, we have a no PDA rule in the code of conduct, and we do have separate dorm floors for male and female students.

No, it is an ecumenical camp. We do not promote or denounce any particular denomination's theology and ask our instructors to do the same.

We provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus multiple snacks per day. The meals are buffet style. We try to have food for every kind of diet, including gluten free and vegetarian.

We ask about some of the most common dietary restrictions on the registration form, so we'll already have that information about you on file once you register. If you have restrictions not listed on the form, or if they are extreme (like if you can't be in the room if someone is eating nuts), please reach out to us.

Please reach out to Phoebe Adams, the event coordinator for Right to Life of Northeast Indiana, with any questions not addressed on this FAQ page. Phoebe is the start-to-finish planner for the camp and is also the onsite camp coordinator throughout the event, so she is always available and can answer any questions you have! Her email is Phoebe@ichooselife.org.

On day 1, we have several sessions of pro-life apologetics training. This is specifically related to abortion and how to talk to others about that issue, including going over common arguments that the pro-choice side uses, how to use logical constructs to make your point, and how to avoid conversational pitfalls. The breakouts teach about life issues that are not limited to abortion and cover many topics, such as euthanasia, adoption, fetal development, artificial reproductive technology, and more.

Yes! If you've attended a lower level before and would like to go back to that level, you can certainly do so. Just make sure you note that request on your registration or email Phoebe@ichooselife.org after you register to notify us of what class you want to be in.

For the instruction level, if you have a friend coming in for the first time and you're a returning student, you can choose to backtrack and take the 101 level with them, but they cannot join you at the advanced level you're at. We require students to follow the training track in order to make sure you don't miss important information! If you want to be in the same breakouts as your friend, you'll want to coordinate with them before you send in your registration form, since you pick the topics and timeslots on that form.

Absolutely! We like to hear your suggestions - this camp is student-centered, so we want to provide education on what topics interest you, and the same goes for activities. If you want to send in your suggestion, email Phoebe@ichooselife.org.

Yes, as long as this is communicated to the event coordinator. Anytime you're going off campus and coming back, you'll contact Phoebe by texting her cell number, which will be on the back of your nametag. Any rooming requests, including not wanting a dorm room at all, need to be made no later than the camp registration deadline. Refusing a dorm room will not affect the registration cost.

On the registration form, you list any students that are attending whom you'd like to room with. To the best of our ability, we will pair you up with your preferred roommate. If you do not get your preferred roommate, this is typically because another student had requested to room with your friend already or your preferred roommate never registered. If we have to give you a roommate you aren't familiar with, we try to match you based on age, school, or religious affiliation. Unless you have an extenuating circumstance, you will have a roommate. This is to keep the cost to you as low as possible and to ensure we have space in the dorm for all our students.

Most dorm rooms have 2 beds in them, and they share a bathroom with another connecting dorm room. This means that, at most, you should be sharing a bathroom with your roommate and the two students next door. The bathroom is a "jack and jill" style with a door on either end that opens to the dorm rooms.

Yes, you can request the dorm room for an additional night if you need to arrive the night before camp. Please send this request to Phoebe@ichooselife.org by the registration deadline. Phoebe will be on campus that night as well, in case you have any issues.

We do house male and female students within the same dorm, but we have separate floors for each gender. The key cards for the dorm only allow access to the floor your room is on, so male and female students cannot access each others' floors. Please note that our chaperones also stay overnight, so there will be male chaperones monitoring the male student floor and likewise with the females.

Yes, there is campus security available to call at all times. It is provided through the university, and the number for security is posted on every building.

We understand that the door-to-door practicum isn't for everyone, and we don't want to push you too far outside your comfort zone. If you'd rather stay on campus during this time period, you can join the 101 or 201 level classes while the 301 level is on practicum.

We try to have roughly a 10:1 student to chaperone ratio.

Hopefully this doesn't happen, but if it does, please let your head chaperone know! If you feel really bad, the event coordinator will be informed, and your parent could come pick you up if you'd prefer to leave (or if the event coordinator determines that you need medical attention).

We ask that you stay in chaperone-monitored areas. The general rule is that if an area isn't listed on your schedule and there aren't chaperones present, you aren't supposed to wander in it.

We understand that you might have work or personal commitments and can't attend for all three days. If this is the case, but you'd still like to come to part of the camp, email Phoebe@ichooselife.org to let us know when you will be on campus.

Yes, but we ask that any time you leave campus, you text Phoebe at her cell number (which will be on the back of your nametag) to let her know. We need to have an accurate student census at all times for safety reasons. Please also notify Phoebe once you've returned.

We do not have a service on Saturday, but the chapel on campus will be open before breakfast if you'd like to have prayer time. We will have a chaperone group leave from the dorms that morning to walk over any students who would like to visit the chapel.

Yes! We strive to make camp inclusive by providing multiple concurrent activities, with some being more active (sports) and some being less physically intensive (like board game nights). If you are concerned about your limitations during camp, please list this in the "anything we should know about you?" section of the registration form.

The main goal of camp is for you to be educated on topics in the pro-life sphere, so we don't allow students to skip classes without a reason. Some allowances can be made, such as if you're feeling unwell, but these must be communicated to the event coordinator. If you had registered for a breakout topic and would like to change it, this can often be accommodated if you ask the event coordinator. If you decide that you don't want to participate in camp at all anymore, you can leave or have a parent come pick you up (after informing the event coordinator).

Yes, your parent can be a chaperone, if they meet the requirements (see below). Please keep in mind that your parent will be chaperoning up to roughly 10 students at a time, so they may not always be where you are.

Chaperones must be 21 years of age or older and show proof of a clean background check. We would like to meet with or have a call with any first-time chaperones prior to the camp. Chaperone status is granted after approval by the executive director.

In the simplest terms, chaperones are supposed to be wherever the students are present. This means that, for the most part, they will just be in shared spaces with students to monitor the camp, and they stay overnight in the dorms. There are some specialized chaperone duties, such as refereeing camp games, and a list of these are emailed in advance of the camp so chaperones can sign up for duties that interest them. There is also a head female and head male chaperone chosen each year; these are the first point of contact if students have issues. All chaperone expectations/duties are emailed to an individual once they have reached out with interest in being a chaperone.

Your first step is reaching out to Phoebe@ichooselife.org. Generally, you will either have a face-to-face meeting or phone call with the event coordinator and executive director. If the event coordinator and executive director decide you would be a good fit to chaperone at the camp, you will then be given all the information and a chaperone agreement to sign. To officially become a chaperone, you would turn in a background check and your signed paperwork. There is no cost to chaperone, and you will get dorm lodging and meals just like the students. The event coordinator will send detailed information a month in advance of the camp.

We provide all meals and snacks, but you can certainly bring additional snacks if you'd like! Each dorm floor also has a fridge that you can put perishable food in, but make sure you label it so it doesn't disappear.

The dorm is pretty bare and only has toilet paper, paper towels, soap, and a bed with mattress, plus a desk and a closet. You will need to bring everything you'd normally pack on vacation, plus bath towels, pillows, and bed linens.

Video game consoles were allowed in the past, and they caused a number of students to choose gaming over sleep and attending classes. After persistently causing issues, we made the decision to ask students to leave the video games at home during the 3 days. While we want you to enjoy your time at camp and with friends, this is ultimately an educational camp and is meant for you to attend classes and leave with lots of new information. Since video games seem to hinder the learning process, we do not allow them on campus.

Please bring all medications that you normally take! You are asked to list your medications on the registration form, and it's highly recommended that you bring any prescription meds in their original labeled bottles. You may keep them in your dorm room and do not need to turn them in to the chaperones or event coordinator.