The Dartmouth Compact Mirror 08/14/15

MIRR OR 08.14.2015

Summer Christian Fellowship|2

Trending & Overheards |2-3

Student Profiles: Faith on Campus|4

TTLG: LIBBY|3 Alison Guh/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Christian Fellowship 30 students participate in an “All Night Prayer” STORY

Kate Herrington/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

Earlier in this term I gave a d’var — a speech interpreting the weekly Torah portion— at a Hillel Shabbat dinner. The portion started off in typically Biblical fashion with a detailed description of how the High Priest performs services on Yom Kippur. But then we got to the texts’ discussion of sexual morality and commandments that get at the social consciousness that I believe is at the core of Judaism. For me, this portion juxtaposes what attracts me to Judaism and what pulls me away from my Jewish heritage. The prohibitions, the you-shall-nots, the and-you-shall-be-stoned-if-you, et cetera have always seemed constrictive and often problematic. I do believe that we must follow certain moral codes and that religion can be useful in guiding us, but I still struggle with the text.

Further, if I chose not to do so and engage with the text intellectually or not at all, how does that change my relationship to Judaism?

I often feel a twinge, and sometimes a lot more than that, of dissatisfaction with religion. I remind myself that people use and distort religious texts and teaching around the world to degrade, to humiliate, to abuse, and even to kill.

How do I separate people’s actions from religion? Do I simply remind myself that their interpretation is a distortion if it is harmful? Or do I reject religion like I have for most of my adult life? From this Torah portion, I am left with a sense of profound awe at the social consciousness that is built into my heritage even while I may not agree with all of these prohibitions and find some to be harmful. I will grapple with Judaism in all its complexity. The section obligates the Jewish people to follow a certain moral code because the Land of Israel will physically reject them. To posses a land flowing from milk and honey one must be just or moral. I think there is much to be learned from thinking of our relationship to land and ownership as a responsibility and to stretch that from the literal text to a place where we value protecting the environment. I still struggle with the text, so much so that I used to feel like I didn’t want to engage with it at all. It felt irrelevant and often seemed sexist. But I think the point should be to struggle, so thank you for struggling along with me and enjoy a further exploration of religion in this issue.

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MIRROR R MIRROR EDITOR REBECCA ASOULIN

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KATIE MCKAY

PUBLISHER JUSTIN LEVINE

B y Victoria nelsen

An unheard and often forgotten voice on Dartmouth’s campus is that of religious communities.

Though many students are involved in various religious organizations, the various fellowships and communities tend to keep to themselves, offering a space for students who want it without having a larger voice on campus. That changed on Friday night, when 30 students journeyed around campus offering passing students prayer.

The Summer Christian Fellowship, a combination of all the Christian fellowships on campus, comes together during the summer with less students on campus. The group organized this event last Friday. The prayer walks were part of a larger event called “All Night Prayer.” Held in Sarner Underground, around 30 students congregated to worship for the entire night, ending the evening with a 7 a.m. Lou’s Challenge.

Shefali Gladson ’16 organized the event and said the intention was to “be a light on this campus” and to give love and encouragement to other students.

She said the event followed what Jesus called on his disciples to do. Though the event was small, Gladson said that SCF hoped it would bring about some change on the campus, even if that change only affected one person.

“It was something I felt called to do,” Gladson said. “I feel like Christian communities tend to be distant from the larger campus, and I thought this would be a good way to become more involve and to love on campus.”

The event began around 11 p.m. on Friday night with “worship” for two hours, which Gladson said included a band and singing. From 12:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., students split up into groups and walked around campus, offering prayer to other students.

For the rest of the night, the SCF students returned to Sarner, spending the remaining hours praying and worshipping.

The students did not target certain parts of campus or types of students in their prayer walks.

Jake Casale ’17 , who participated in the event, said that there was no particular agenda and the students were looking for anyone that God brought before them.

“I think primarily we just wanted to bless and love campus through this,” Casale said. “I believe, and we believe, that prayer is very powerful.”

Casale said that he and two others approached a total of eight students, most of whom someone knew before. A few people asked to be prayed for and one of the SCF members would do a verbal prayer while the other two prayed silently.

He added that most students were receptive to and appreciative of their offer and none were

disrespectful.

Gladson approached around 10 to 12 students, although none of them wanted to be prayed for.

Going in, Gladson said she expected there to be awkwardness on both ends and she was not surprised by people’s hesitancy when approached. Still, she said that everyone was respectful.

“I was very humbled by how open people were willing to be,” she said.

Casale said that while this was not the first “All Night Prayer” that he has attended, it is the first with the secondary goal of outreach involved.

In addition to the prayer walks, SCF passed around a prayer box and emailed a Google form to campus. The form offered all students the opportunity to submit prayer requests, which could be anonymous if desired. Gladson said that the prayer box collected around 10 to 15 responses, while 10 people requested prayers through the Google form.

As a more personal goal, Casale said that he was hoping to grow in boldness in his faith and to shed his concerns about how he and his Christianity are received through the event. He said that he, as well as many other Christians, are nervous and worried about how they will be received when being open with their faith.

Cassidy McDermott ’17 was approached by SCF members on Friday night while eating with a friend in Novack Café. She said that they took her by surprise, but ultimately agreed to be prayed for, despite not being religious. Though McDermott said the experience was strange, she said she did not mind being approached.

Religion department chair Randall Balmer said that he has heard of similar events such as this one happening on college campuses in his 30 years of teaching. He said that he could see other students being offended by such an event if they do not feel like they need prayer, but believes that there is nothing wrong with the event.

“There’s a part of me that admires these students for their conviction and for acting on their beliefs,” Balmer said.

Gladson said that the event also helped to cultivate unity within the Christian body on campus, as there sometimes exist walls between denominations. SCF is open to all sects of Christianity.

SCF’s outreach continues tonight with an event called #VulnerabilityIsNotAWeakness, which SCF is co-hosting with X.Ado, the Christian a cappella group on campus. The event will be a talent show interwoven with various stories of people’s experiences with their Christian faith and coming to know God, Gladson said.

She said the purpose behind the event is to let people know that Christians are as broken as the rest of the world and to combat the perception that Christians are judgmental or feel superior to others.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR GAYNE KALUSTIAN

’17: That’s too

small for a sex toy. It would get lost.

‘17: Haters gonna hate, but I have no rebuttal that definitely did happen.

’16: If I was nice I wouldn’t give you this disdainful look as I walk away. ’16: Once I was drinking with my professor and he cut me off. He was like, ‘can’t be drunk in lab.’

‘15: Everyone always cares about #somepig.

’17: Some people keep condoms in their wallets, I keep lactaid pills.

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RTMOUTH

Finding community at Dartmouth College Hillel COLUMN

B y SAM LIBBY

I never thought I would be involved in religious life anywhere — much less in college. Growing up as a Conservative Jew while attending a Christian high school, I hated displays of organized religion. Even though chapel services tried to be inclusive, recognizing the various Jewish (and other faiths’) holidays, I still felt out of place. At religious school, I never felt intellectually engaged and felt ostracized by my peers, who attended different schools. While I still maintained a set of Jewish values fostered by my parents, I did not find a group of Jewish peers to whom I could relate.

Coming to Dartmouth, I wanted to have the full Dartmouth experience. After Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips, I wanted to hang out with everyone I had met and enjoy “Camp Dartmouth” before classes began. But Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, stood in the way, occurring before orientation. I could not feasibly go back to Dallas, so for the first time, I spent the Holidays away from my family. Feeling alone, I went to Hillel for the first time to search for a community. I was greeted warmly, but feeling new, alone and out of place, I did not feel at home just yet.

Throughout freshman fall, I attended Hillel events but never really felt engaged with my Jewish classmates. I began teaching Hebrew school to the Upper Valley Jewish Community, but I never really interacted with my fellow Dartmouth student teachers and I left right after school let out.

My experience changed dramatically during the winter. Living in Bissell residence hall, next door to the Roth Center for Jewish Life, I quickly found a comfortable place to study in the Roth Center library. Through casual interactions with fellow Jewish students, I began

to see Hillel less as a synagogue and more as than top-down direction. Dartmouth has a community. My involvement with my peers allowed me to develop my own sense of Judain this casual setting began to transform my ism, giving me the opportunity to adjust my Dartmouth experience, and for the first time, practices as my experience changes. The Hillel I made friends with Jews who were similar to I have grown to love has given me more than me. So much of my time at Dartmouth has just a building for religious services or a space revolved around Hillel, as the organization and to study. The people for whom Hillel matters the Jewish community revitalized my vision of tremendously shape my Dartmouth career and I hope that my tenure as president has helped my Dartmouth career.

When I became Hillel president this past Hillel maintain the open, inclusive, diverse and spring, I wanted to give back to the organiza- supportive family that opened its arms to me tion and the people who gave so much to me. when I most needed it.

Planning Passover and other Jewish holidays, I wanted to be sure everyone felt comfortable, engaged and religiously and spiritually fulfilled. Organizing other Hillel events, I wanted to ensure that the space remained inclusive to people of all backgrounds.

Religion was never a factor for my involvement in Hillel.

My personal religious journey has varied throughout my life, but I view Judaism less as a faith and more as a way of life. My experience at Dartmouth reflects this perspective, as I remain involved at Hillel both socially and religiously.

When I think about faith, I think about Kate Herrington/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF personal discovery and engagement, rather Libby writes about finding unexpected community at Dartmouth College Hillel.

Profiles: Faith on Campus SPOTLIGHT

B y REBECCA ASOULIN

Josh Pearl ’17

campus?

JP: I wouldn’t necessarily call it faith — I would more call it observance. I usually try throughout my day doing things like trying to keep kosher as best I can. And attend religious programming at Dartmouth Hillel that we run — the holidays and Shabbat every week.

Are there any challenges to observance?

JP: Sure, sometimes when the calendar doesn’t align right or you have a midterm or paper when it’s a holiday. You just have to talk to a professor, there all understanding.

Kate Herrington/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

What is your religious affiliation? What organizations are you involved with on campus?

JP: I am the president of Dartmouth College Hillel, one of the Jewish organizations on campus, for [the summer term].

How do you engage with your faith on

Do you think Dartmouth students engage with religion?

JP: No, they don’t, or at least I feel that way.

We have good participation at Hillel for our social events, cultural events and even our major religious events, like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. There’s no shortage of people, but when you look at the regular weekday service for Shabbat you tend to not have those people that show up to other

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events. The reason you don’t see many weekly is not a reflection of Dartmouth, but more a reflection of American Judaism.

Why is your religion an important part of your identity?

JP: It’s who I am. At this point — you can’t separate the two.

How did that come to be?

JP: Being raised in a Jewish household, going to Jewish day school for 12 years, living in a Jewish neighborhood. The idea that you have a secular life and a religious life implies you can only have one or the other rather than varying degrees. To say that you’re going to strip away part of that identity is impossible when it’s so intertwined with everything else you are. It’s making it into a black and white situation and I cant believe it’s that way for anyone. There’s no such thing that you can press on and off on your religious life — it’s always part of your identity.

This article has been edited and condensed.

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Profiles: Faith on Campus Four students offer personal experiences with religion SPOTLIGHT

B y REBECCA ASOULIN

Terren Klein ’17 How do you religiously identify yourself ?

TK: I would probably in most contexts say that I’m Jewish. I was raised in a Conservative Jewish household and I attended Jewish day school for most of my life. At school, I’m not particularly involved in many religious organizations. I am not particularly observant of many Jewish practices at this time. I would describe myself in this liminal place between Judaism and un-affiliation.

Have you been involved with any Dartmouth programs or groups structured around religion?

TK: I am involved to some degree with both Hillel and Chabad, mostly attending Friday night Shabbat dinners. Another thing I’m very involved with is the Tucker Center. I am the student director for that, but I wouldn’t call any of the activities that I run or participate in underneath the Tucker Center as pertaining to one religion ever. While there are a lot of activities and organizations under the Tucker Center that are dedicated to specific religions, I find I gravitate towards the organizations like multi-faith conversations or a former program called Tucker Leaders in Community that revolve around the concepts of spirituality and not a particular religion.

How do you feel like you engage with religion/spirituality while on campus, if you do?

TK: It’s hard for me to define spirituality. But I think there definitely is a core aspect of a search for meaning that I identify with. I guess the way I search for meaning is trying to expose myself to as many different worldviews as I possibly can on campus and I think the best way to expose yourself to a lot of philosophies or religions or otherwise is involving yourself in the Tucker Center. That really is the center for students of all different religious faiths and nonreligious faiths to come together and share their identities with each other.

A part of my search for spirituality is understanding and aligning myself with other students as they search for their spirituality or practice their religion. I think the religious identity of students is an identity factor that is often overlooked. It’s

truly remarkable that they have prescribed to a particular worldview and practice a set of religious observances that not many students are aware of. I think that if you heard that a student ascribed to a particular philosophy, not religious, and lived their life obediently by that practice, I think that people would be truly amazed.

Do you think Dartmouth students engage with spirituality, and if they don’t, why not?

TK: I certainly can’t compare it to other schools or anything, but I don’t think that religious identities come up naturally in conversations. I would say that the Dartmouth environment — I don’t think it’s exclusively a Dartmouth thing — is to not share with others your deeply held beliefs about life and obviously religion would fit under that category. I think that same norm of not talking about what’s most important to you in life — it carries out beyond the religious context. Unfortunately, you can’t start a conversation with someone asking them directly what their worldview is. Obviously, there are natural obstacles to that sort of question like first getting to know the person, but beyond that there’s definitely a social stigma to talk about what’s important to you in terms of deep, existential, philosophical matters. I see that in the classroom and in everyday conversation.

Why is spirituality or faith an important part of your identity — or is it? And why is it or is it not?

TK: I think that your spirituality and your religion is how you form your identity and that’s something I’m constantly seeking to do. I think one of the only ways to find out what’s important to you is to find out what’s important in life. I think that broader question is one of the central questions that guides spiritual and religious matters. And so while I would say Judaism is a key part of my identity for cultural and social reasons, at this point in my life I’m not particularly religious, but I would definitely describe myself as spiritual because I like to see myself as someone who searches for meaning in his or her life.

This article has been edited and condensed.

Jake Casale ’17

What is your religious affiliation?

What groups are you involved with on campus?

JC: I’m a Christian, born and raised in a Christian family. During the school year, I’m the new editor-in-chief for The Dartmouth Apologia which is the journal of Christian thought on campus. I’m involved with Christian Union and this summer because all of the fellowships are collapsed into one I’m involved with the Summer Christian Fellowship.

How do you engage with your faith on campus?

JC: For me, my faith is a very central part of my identity. I’m kind of always tapped into it regardless of whether or not something on campus is helping me or hindering me. I’ve found the fellowships on campus a great environment to grow more in my faith.

I went to a Christian high school before coming here and felt like I had a lot of knowledge coming in. I had a view of myself as being pretty spiritual mature, but a huge part of my Dartmouth experience in general has been learning so much more than I thought I ever would about God, about what it means to be a Christian in the wider world. I’ve learned how to own and articulate my beliefs to people who don’t share them, how to be a better Christian friend with my friends who are Christians by learning more how to support other people with their own journeys with God and learning how to be in community.

I had a faith community back home, but even my definition of what it means to be in a Christian community has expanded so much at Dartmouth. The Apologia has been a great avenue for me to continue to critically examining faith and learning that faith is not separate from reason, but the two actually go together really well.

Abraham Herrera ’18

What is your religious affiliation? What organizations are you involved with on campus?

AH: I’m a practicing Christian, but I also have Jewish ancestors so I attend both Christian services and also go to Hillel. On campus, I’m a part of three major Christian groups — there’s Cru, Christian Union and Agape [Christian Fellowship]. I attend their large sessions, but I also attend bible studies. I find that being in a community with other believers allows me to gain a deeper understanding of my faith, whereas when it’s just you alone learning about your faith, you can only learn so much, but having different viewpoints is great.

Do you think Dartmouth students engage with religion?

AH: I’d I say I definitely did not expect as many students to be engaged with their faith here, but that’s been a welcome surprise for me. The Christian community here is pretty large, same as the Jewish — although we have a smaller Jewish community than some of the other Ivies, it seems like it’s a very vibrant religious community here.

Is your faith an important part of your identity?

AH: I would say my faith is probably where my identity stems from. I know my identity before God and that kind of influences my outlook on life in general. It’s definitely one of the main identifications of my identity.

This article has been edited and condensed.

Do you think Dartmouth students engage with religion? Why or why not?

JC: It’s really dependent on individual conversations, people and groups. On my freshmen floor, I had a lot of great conversations with friends who weren’t believers, which was awesome. In certain other places, like with people in my co-ed fraternity, or from places like theater I’ve had really good conversations.

I’ve found it depends on the individual person. I haven’t found a huge cultural resistance to at least hearing my story. There are sometimes when I will be having conversations with a friend, say about what I believe, and I think sometimes it seems like people don’t quite know what questions to ask. I think because sometimes there can be a lot of complexity or nuance within the belief system of Christianity.

Sometimes I’m not sure if people are curious and want to learn more, but just don’t know what questions to ask or if there just not interested beyond, ‘This is your thing, you do you.’ I think more within the last year I’ve had more conversations that stopped a little bit. I do think Dartmouth in general has a ‘you do you vibe’ which is great.

I have not personally experienced that much animosity or venom for being a Christian which is not necessarily that case on other campuses. I do sense the flip side to that is that people can display a sort of apathy in regards to learning about any sort of belief system that is not necessarily their own.

Anything you would like to add?

JC: The Apologia, starting this next spring, we will have been around for ten years. The mission of the apologia is to articulate Christian perspectives in the academic community.

Oftentimes, faith is seen as something that is not intellectual and doesn’t belong in academia. We really wanted to have an avenue to start those conversations on an academic level about the veracity of faith.

The founders when they were freshmen did receive a lot of ‘Oh, you believe that? that’s not reasonable or very coherent.’ It’s funny because there are some ways the cultural vibe at Dartmouth in relation to religion has shifted. From my experience, there isn’t that cultural freedom to say ‘Why do you believe that, that’s stupid.” That’s an encouraging thing for me.

I would love if people had a desire to understand where were all coming from which might entail having some conversations that are not as comfortable just because the nature of the topic. I think that could help us to become a lot stronger of a community because we would be a community that understands deeper parts of each other that I feel like individual friends understand now, but community as a whole less so.

This article has been edited and condensed.

PHOTOS BY KATE HERRINGTON/THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF