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Religious groups strong on campu

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by Nathaniel Liedl

Wednesday, February 9, 2005

Although some organizations report animosity from skeptics, religious groups remain very active in the University of Wisconsin community.

Religious associations compose about 10 percent of the total 677 registered student organizations.

According to Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel outreach coordinator Judith Metzger and UW’s student organization office, there are nearly 70 religious student organizations and more than 20 churches on campus.

UW junior and Muslim Students Association member Maryam Ashraf said she has experienced hostility from students in recent months. However, Ashraf added that despite the hostility, she has never felt threatened or unsafe on campus.

“I have experienced a lot of animosity,” Ashraf said. “I don’t know whether to attribute it to the war on terror or the [Iraqi] elections.”

She said most of the resentment directed at her is because people misunderstand Muslims, but their organization aims to be visibly active in the community.

“Most [people] don’t have a clear picture of Islam or what we believe in,” Ashraf said.

The Christian Lutheran Campus Center said people are tolerant of the Lutheran faith. UW senior Kirsten Fryer, the student coordinating committee chairperson at the Lutheran Campus Center, said no incidents of backlash against her church occurred.

Ashraf said Muslim activism is different from other religious organizations. Maintaining a visible presence on campus is the most important thing, Ashraf clarified. Simply being seen on campus with the traditional hair covering will help to “normalize” people’s perceptions of Muslims, she said.

To increase activism, Fryer said the different churches and religious student organizations at UW tailor their services to accommodate students’ needs. She said it is important for students to be involved.

“You should be engaged civically,” she said.

Fryer became involved with the Lutheran Campus Center at Student Orientation Advising and Registration as a freshman. She attributes the large UW involvement in religious organizations to “word of mouth” and recruiting friends into the groups.

She added the center adapts to students’ schedules to increase their participation by offering a 9 p.m. Sunday service instead of Sunday morning services, in addition to a Wednesday evening service.

“On Sunday morning, who wants to get up?” Fryer asked.

Sarah Verity, who works full time at the Jewish fellowship center Hillel Foundation as a programmer and outreach coordinator, said her organization is constantly “creating new things to attract students.”

According to Verity, Hillel has a core group of 75 students who are actively involved.

“All of our programming is student driven,” Verity said.

UW junior Caitlin Iverson, who has been a member of Primetime since she was a freshman, said the organization is a non-denominational organization that welcomes people from any religious backgrounds.

Iverson said she feels especially connected to Primetime because members are not afraid to talk about issues pertinent to college-aged students, like drugs, alcohol, relationships and sex.

“It’s a lot more modernized and totally geared to college issues,” Iverson said.

Iverson recognizes students have busy schedules but added that any student who believes religious organizations are important can make time to participate.

It is worthwhile “to take an hour out of the week to thank God and say, ‘This is an awesome world we live [in],’” Iverson said.

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Anonymous (February 9, 2005 @ 12:10pm):

The Muslim Students Association, with its explicit goal of working toward the installation of a shaaria government in the United States, certainly ought to be made to feel uncomfortable on campus.

Anonymous (February 9, 2005 @ 12:38pm):

You are an idiot. They do not have that as one of their stated goals. In fact, since most of their officers are liberals, it is safe to say that they are against all religious fundamentalism, whether it be Christian or Muslim.

Anonymous (February 9, 2005 @ 12:59pm):

Except that the MSA gets most of its funding nationally from the Saudi government, which has as an explicitly stated goal working toward the installation of a shaaria government in every nation in the world.