After just a quick glance at the Daily CONNtact, one can immediately notice the diverse array of new religious activities and organizations recently blossoming on campus. Among these new involvements are a Muslim Student Association, Quaker worship meetings and Buddhist meditation sessions: three unique additions to religious life at Conn that grew out of the passions and interests of students hoping to bring new spiritual perspectives on campus.
In the past, there was a Muslim Student Association, but over the years interest in the group faded and the organization disappeared at Conn. This semester, a few passionate freshmen students, including Ahlam Rashid and Ramza Shahid, worked together with senior and Muslim Student Coordinator, Amna Qayyum, to revitalize the Muslim Student Association on campus.
“My friend, Ramza, who is also a freshman and is Muslim, and I were talking about how there were no Muslim organizations at Conn and how we wished there a club on campus that spread awareness of Muslim culture. When Yalla Bina [the Middle Eastern club] was founded last semester, we began to talk about starting a Muslim Student Association and we asked Amna if she would help us start [it],” said Rashid, describing how the club became a reality.
Though just approved as a student organization by SGA last week, the Muslim Student Association has many goals in mind for spreading awareness of Muslim culture and practice to the Connecticut College campus community.
“Mainly what we would like to do with this organization would be to raise more awareness of the Muslim culture across campus. It’s not so much a religious organization as it is a cultural organization. Some of the activities we are planning to do are Dessert and Dialogues with professors, film screenings and many other cultural activities.” said Qayyum.
She explained her involvement with the Muslim Student Association was a chance to use not only her religious and cultural interests but also her academic background to help students understand more about the Islamic world.
“I’m a history major with a focus on the Muslim world and I thought it would be interesting to use my academic background and personal interests to help these students form and organize this group. I think it’s a great chance to discuss things that students might not get much exposure to here at Conn.”
Spreading awareness about contemporary Islam is central to the mission of this new student organization as well as its function to be a way of discussing political, cultural, and social issues involved.
“With the introduction of Yalla Bina on campus, everyone has assumed that they are representing the Muslim group on campus, but a majority of the Muslim world does not speak Arabic and there’s much more diversity to it. I think this is what our organization is trying to show the campus community as well as provide more of a cultural and political perspective along with the religious aspect.” said Qayyum.
Jeff Baird ’12 started the weekly Quaker Meetings for Worship out of a personal interest in Quakerism and as a way to reach out to other Quaker students or interested students on campus. He explained that it has been hard encouraging participation because it is a new, unknown religious group to the campus.
“I knew there were other Quaker students on campus and that there were others who had attended Quaker schools or were interested in the religion, and I wanted to connect all of these individuals,” said Baird.
In general, Baird found that most students do not understand who Quakers are. He created the worship meetings as a way for others to learn about Quakerism and to connect individuals interested in religion and forming a community.
“Quaker Meeting for Worship, in particular, is something that that can be enjoyed by people of all faiths—whether you are looking for a religious or spiritual experience, or simply a space for reflection—it is a space where you are part of a community.”
Though not an official student organization on campus, the Quaker Meetings for Worship, held on Sundays, have a steady weekly student following. Baird hopes to further spread word about the group and to ultimately increase participation among the campus community.
“The whole idea of Quakerism is about fostering your own relationship with God and your own spiritual relationship while being a part of a community. People share messages during these Meetings, when they feel moved to speak, and through this we all join together in creating a safe environment for spirituality, reflection, or whatever one can best use the space for,” said Baird.
Junior Andrew Wolff’s personal interest in Buddhism led him to organize this semester’s Buddhist meditation sessions with Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life, Claudia Highbaugh. Wolff first approached Dean Highbaugh during the fall semester inquiring about any Buddhist contacts in the New London area that might be able to help him study and practice Buddhism on his own.
Highbaugh told Wolff that many other students had also expressed an interest in practicing Buddhism at Conn, yet since there was no group on campus representing the religion she suggested Wolff form such a group.
Bruce Blair, a Buddhist chaplain at Yale University, leads the group’s weekly sessions and provides guidance for the group members.
Wolff reflected on the goals of this new group and its influence in representing the aspects of the Buddhist religion on campus. His involvement with the club reflects his personal desire to be involved with other students sharing religious beliefs.
“[With religion] it makes sense to have a center and a group to base a practice in. Buddhist meditation is practicing a way of giving one’s self up completely. In order to give of one’s self completely, one must open one’s self completely, and it is best to have a safe place in which to do so.”
The Buddhist meditation sessions function with the assistance of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and use spaces in Harkness Chapel and Becker House.
Though the group is still growing, its followers include students, staff members and a Conn alum. Wolff stressed that membership in the group is not strict and meetings are casual and relaxed.
In true Buddhist nature, Wolff expressed a reflective view of the group’s role as an addition to religious life on campus: “I’m just going to set up the cushions, make the tea and light the incense and all I can hope for is that the people who come will benefit in some way, in a way that only they will be aware of. I am merely concerned with providing a welcome, open space for those to sit in and open their minds.”
Though these new religious involvements on campus have added to the variety of spiritual space at Conn, two of the longer-standing religious organizations on campus, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and Hillel, also provide students with interesting and inspiring means of exploring religion.
Alex Zarecki ’12, a student leader of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), stressed the club’s importance on campus as a means of fellowship and community for Christians and those exploring religion.
“The core of IVCF on campus is the weekly large group gathering in Cro’s Nest where we read Scriptures, discuss topics of personal relevance and community concern and sing sweet praise tunes. In its widest sense, the mission of IVCF is to respond to God’s love, grace and truth by supporting a community committed to following the teachings and example of Jesus,” explained Zarecki.
As a national organization on many college campuses, the Conn chapter of IVCF is involved with attending national conferences and service trips in affiliation with the larger IVCF community. Besides their weekly gatherings in Cro’s Nest, IVCF hosts weekly small group Bible studies in dorms and common rooms as well as fellowship meals open to the entire campus to cook and enjoy company.
This year the group has been working on increasing their role on campus by holding larger scale events such as dialogues and film screenings.
Zarecki described his involvement with the club as both a way to bond the Christian community on campus as well as to provide resources for those exploring Christianity.
“I try to help members who have come from specific Christian traditions to maintain respect for the goodness of their early teachings, while challenging their view of what it means to be a Christian and what it truly costs to love like Christ. Outside of the group, most students seem to want no direct or complete affiliation with any particular religious/spiritual tradition or belief. Our goal as a group is to live out the truth of Jesus as best we can, that all might see Him for who He is: love embodied, dwelling among us.”
Emmet Markin ’10, president of Hillel, explained that the organization’s mission is to create a stronger sense of community at Conn through spreading Jewish culture and traditions on campus.
Hillel, which has experienced an increase in interest and popularity among students on campus in recent years, has brought many cultural events to Conn.
Markin expressed the perspective that students have been attracted to Hillel mainly for the cultural aspects of the organization and feels that embracing Judaism may be something that students have overlooked due to these factors.
“I think students have embraced our club because we don’t emphasize religion, but rather the culture and traditions. Students on campus enjoy being culturally Jewish rather than embracing being religiously Jewish. It does seem this trend is slowly changing and I hope both aspects will be more closely explored by students,” said Markin.
Though Hillel’s cultural and social activities are popular on campus, the organization does provide many religious events allowing students to gather and fellowship. Hillel hosts Shabbat dinners in Freeman every Friday night at 6 PM, provides Jewish holiday celebrations for the whole campus and many special events bringing in lecturers to speak on topics related to Judaism.
Markin described his goal for the club is to continue to reach out to the student body through religious and cultural events and bringing students together through a shared Jewish community.
“I’m very proud of my Jewish heritage and I would like to educate others about Jewish culture. Through Hillel, I think we can provide an arena for Jewish students and non-Jewish students to come together and embrace both religion and community.”
Religion has always been a less-discussed topic among college students across the nation and seemingly attracts less interest than in previous years. Though Conn’s liberal views on religion may provide for the clandestine aspects of religious organizations within Conn’s social scene, student religious leaders shared their opinion of religion on campus and its future.
“People are very liberal about religion here on campus and I think it’s difficult for them to understand what we do. I think this is probably why religious organizations are not given much attention on campus among students here,” said Rashid.
Zarecki agreed that religion is a rare topic discussed among students and sees this as a result of students not fully understanding or personally exploring religion.
“Students here at Conn are generally quite open-minded and polite, but discussing religion is a very personal thing; it is full of so much baggage and negative imagery. There are two primary reactions I receive when IVCF comes up in conversation: the first being, ‘Oh… so, what do you, like, do in that?’ and the second being that the conversation ends quickly, abruptly, and awkwardly. Both to me are representative of the severe disconnect that exists between students and the existence of the genuine, intellectual Christian striving to love God and love people.”
Baird expressed his feeling that religion on campus can provide the student community with opportunities to become more open and understanding of each other and of the core mission of the College.
“I am passionate about Quakerism, and because I want to have an open, spiritual space on campus. Quakerism is a very accepting religion. The values within Quakerism actually are very similar to many expressed in the Honor Code, one of the main reasons why I chose Connecticut College.”
These student organizations are only the beginning of starting the discussion about religion on campus. With the hope that many student leaders expressed, these organizations will lead awareness and a deeper understanding and reflection of spiritual life.
