University junior AnneMarie Knepper is one of many students for whom faith is an important aspect of their college experience.
Knepper is an avid participant in the Wesley Foundation College Student Campus Ministry, a religious organizations on campus.
Last year, Knepper participated in the Alternative Spring Break Experience. The group went to San Francisco to learn more about issues that concern the poor in that city and to participate in community service projects. While there, she spent two days with Project Open Hands to help prepare and deliver meals to patients with late-stage HIV symptoms and other chronic illnesses.
“It was an eye-opening experience,” Knepper said. “I found out that ‘the needy’ doesn’t always mean the bum on the street. The bottom line is that they can’t get up and make their own dinner.”
Many acknowledge the important role faith plays in some students’ lives, and many student groups exist to help fill that need.
“Just because the University is officially secular doesn’t mean we’re oblivious to the life of the spirit,” University President Dave Frohnmayer said. “This is an important time of exploration and growth and we urge students to explore that as vigorously as they can.”
Ginny Nilsen, co-president of the Religious Directors Association on campus, explained the purpose of campus faith groups.
“Our goal is to provide the opportunity for students to seek out, investigate and participate in finding like-minded thinkers,” Nilsen said.
Ann Bowersox, pastor of Presbyterian Campus Ministry, agreed, saying it is helpful for students to get involved with a faith community.
“It makes the University a little smaller,” she said.
The University is also a place to learn about other faiths, bridging the gaps of misunderstanding between religions.
For instance, last spring the Muslim Student Association sponsored a series of lectures for the community titled “An Islamic Perspective of Justice,” and it is planning similar events for the coming year.
“After Sept. 11, (2001,) we all woke up to realize that there was a tremendous need to educate the non-Muslim world about Islam; but there was also a second awakening, and that was that there’s a tremendous need to educate Muslims about Islam,” Assistant Professor of Religious Studies Timothy Gianotti explained during the first lecture.
Graduate student Talal Al-Rahbi added that the MSA provides essential support for Muslim students following Sept. 11, 2001. Last spring’s community lectures were intended to rectify stereotypes.
“Under the negative picture about Islam that some news media promote, we Muslims are obligated to correct the misrepresentation and wrong ideas about Islam in the mind of people,” Al-Rahbi said.
University students can find a wide range of student-friendly religious organizations on campus. Those seeking a particular faith are likely to find it listed among about two dozen registered with the Religious Directors Association. For more information, students can call Nilsen at 344-5693.
The association will hold its annual Religious Fair in the EMU Amphitheater on Oct. 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. where students can find information tables and representatives of the various campus faith-based organizations.