Today: Mar 28, 2024

An inside look at the university’s religious clubs

Destene SavariauNews Editor

The Muslim Student Association (MSA). An organization for Muslim and non-Muslim students at the university. According to their page on Owl Connect, their purpose is to provide an environment for the nourishment of the Muslim community on campus while nurturing the connections between Muslim and non-Muslims through education, dialogue and interaction. 

“We’re trying to be very inclusive this year. So we don’t want to send someone away if someone want to learn better. I feel like that’s really wrong,” said President Sarah Majzoub, a sophomore.  

Their goals for the semester are to be more active and invite more members to build a tightknit community. With more members and people who join, the more the club can build each other up and strengthen the club for future Owls. 

“I think Covid had a lot to do with our inactivity. But I think once we build ourselves, they’ll want to explore and possibly join.” said Majzoub. 

The MSA is hoping to hold a lot more events like Jeopardy Nights, Family Feud Nights, Movie Nights and Halaqahs, which is a discussion that does not always have to do with Islam.  

“One thing I look forward to, is learning more about Islam and making new Muslim friends,” said nursing major, Saana Mohammed, a freshman.  

While there are no officially set meetings, the organization is hoping to hold meetings once a month. 

The Catholic Campus Ministry; an organization for Catholic students, and those interested in the religion. The main purpose is to foster a community of Catholics. Additionally, they also hope to provide a safe space for students to discuss their faith and provide a community to grow their faith. 

“Anything that Catholic students need or interested students who aren’t Catholic are just interested, are free to join us.” said Campus Minister for Catholic Outreach Brooke Armistead, a junior.  

Armistead is hoping to be a bridge between the church and the university.  

“I would be offering students contacts with priests, the religious sisters, opportunities for mass or confession; anything the students need I’m here. I do office hours in here three times a week. So if people want to stop in and get coffee or of our pounds of candy.” Armistead said. 

To bring in more students, they plan on holding various events to intrigue them. Events such as rosary making, retreats and volunteer opportunities 

“When we hold events, of course, we usually buy pizza from Sally’s,” said Armistead. 

Catholic Ministry events always have food before or during the event. Such as pizza before adoration, or bible study. The office they are in always has chips and tea during office hours.  

“We’re literally breaking bread here,” said history-education major Luke Sawyer, a freshman.  

Hillel is the Jewish student association that fosters a community where individuals at the university come together to experience Judaism’s culture, heritage and religion. 

“Hillel is the JSA on campus, but it’s not exclusive. We do a lot of hanging out and focus more on the cultural side of things rather than the religious side.” said Vice President Cassie Kryger, a senior. 

Hillel’s goal is to bring more Jewish voices into campus, get more involved and have fun. 

 It hosts regular social and educational events in hopes of continuing to grow as a community like the MSA and Catholic Ministry. Such events include Shabbat, Hang with Hillel and prayer workshops. 

“We’re also looking to go apple picking. We’re aiming for Lyman Orchards but we’ll see. We’re also hoping to take a trip to New York. Something interesting Hillel wants students to know is that they always have snacks. You will never come to a Jewish event and leave hungry,” said Kryger.  

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Latest from Blog