Finding the fun in faith

HELENE G. SIMON HILLEL CENTER
The Helene G. Simon Hillel Center tries to give Jewish students a “home away from home,” Executive Director Rabbi Sue Shifron said.
With so many students at IU, a lot of them find it necessary to make their community smaller and more manageable, Shifron said.
”Judaism is more than a religion,” Shifron said. “It’s a community, a culture and a way of life, so we want to give kids a way to connect to (others).”
Shifron said Hillel is as much a cultural and social place for students as it is a religious organization.
Junior Dena Kranzberg, Hillel’s student president, said it’s nice to be surrounded by people who understand her religion.
“There’s something to be said about the whole notion of ‘birds of a feather flock together,’” she said.
Kranzberg mentioned she has seen people start dating because of Hillel. She said that doesn’t guarantee success to a relationship, but it’s definitely a way to meet people.
This IU organization is part of the global Hillel foundation, which is the “largest Jewish campus organization in the world,” according to Hillel.org.
Shifron, who has worked at Hillel for more than 18 years, said IU-Bloomington has about 4,000 Jewish students on its campus. Hillel sees between 2/3 and 3/4 of them throughout the year, and between 400 and 500 students per month, she said.
While it targets Jewish students, Hillel welcomes people of any religion, Shifron said.
Hillel celebrates Shabbat, the weekly Jewish day of rest that goes from sundown Friday to Saturday night, with services and dinner for both reform and conservative Jews. Shifron said about 100 people normally attend Shabbat dinner.
On Sunday, March 2, Hillel will work with other student organizations to hold an interfaith service and dinner at the Tibetan Cultural Center.

CHRISTIAN STUDENT FELLOWSHIP
The Christian Student Fellowship encourages religious activities, such as Thursday-night prayer and worship sessions, but these events sometimes take a back seat to other activities on campus. Attendance at CSF events “fluctuates if IU has a home game,” said Stephanie Michael, who leads the organization’s women ministry.
Located on North Jordan, Christian Student Fellowship provides a spiritual and residential outlet for Christians on campus.
CSF, started in 1968, is sponsored by both Christian churches and those of other denominations as well as individual alumni, Michael said. Students in CSF lived at houses scattered through campus for about the first four decades of the organization’s existence. Only in the last decade has it acquired its own house on North Jordan.
“Through the years, (the number of students in CSF) has increased. I just think students want to have an option to live in a Christian community and grow in it,” Michael said.
James Tolbert, a 22-year-old graduate student, has lived in the Christian Student Fellowship house for two years. It provides a sense of community, he said.
Tolbert said religion provides common ground for CSF members, creating an environment of like-minded people.
Tolbert said CSF members look forward to mission trips. Senior Laura Tuteral has gone on two mission trips with CSF. She went with the group to Mexico and Miami, where the students worked with an orphanage and promoted a new church, respectively, Tuteral said.
Michael said CSF is trying to become more involved in campus activities. This is CSF’s third year helping with Relay for Life, its first year participating in IU Sing and it has had dancers in the IU Dance Marathon for the past two years, Michael said.
“We don’t want the Christian bubble,” Michael said. “Campus is so much larger than this little house.”

MUSLIM STUDENT UNION
The IU Muslim Student Union’s mission states that it “seeks to fulfill (the Qur’an) by providing a welcoming spiritual environment in which Muslims can practice their faith without fear of discrimination.”
This national nonprofit organization was founded in 1997 and is affiliated with the National Muslim Student Association, which was founded in 1963.
Maryam Khan, the MSU’s social-events director, said the IU campus has about 500 Muslim students. About 60 are active MSU members.
“I feel like we’re a family,” said freshman Sohaib Sajjad. “We all treat each other like brothers and sisters, and that’s what Islam is all about.”
Autumn Yaar, also a freshman, said her involvement with the MSU has helped ease her transition to life at IU. It has allowed her to meet people who share the same values as her, she said.
Past events held by the MSU have included ice skating, game nights and bowling.
Khan said events held through the MSU are open to the public. Last year, they held a Fast-A-Thon, which encouraged non-Muslim students to join for a day in the celebration of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims abstain from food, drink and physical needs during daylight hours, to promote solidarity.
The MSU encourages use of the Islamic Center of Bloomington mosque, which is open 24 hours a day, Khan added.
Sajjad said he enjoys helping people understand Islam. No matter what a person’s faith is, the MSU “brings everyone together and unites people,” he said.
Because college exposes students to many different degrees of religious belief, Khan added that the MSU doesn’t want Islam to get tossed aside in students’ lives.
“It doesn’t have to disappear just because you’ve left your family and home,” she said.