Religious panel shares the love

A panel of students shared its religious similarities and differences Monday for the second event of One Love Week. “Where Is The Love” was presented by Theta Nu Xi, IU’s multicultural sorority.

The panel was comprised of students from Impact Movement, the Helene G. Simon Hillel House and the Muslim Student Union. One representative from each of these groups sat at the panel and answered various questions about religion and the challenges faced as a student at IU.

The goal of the panel was to close the gaps that keep students of different religious backgrounds apart, as well as to bring light to the similarities between them.

President of Theta Nu Xi and junior Cameray Boyden said she was glad to bring everyone together to spread the love, the goal of all the week’s One Love events.

“We want to get a discussion going to bring together different religious groups and inspire people to speak up about their faith and feel comfortable,” Boyden said.

Theta Nu Xi, the only multicultural-based sorority on campus, is excited to put on One Love week for the first time, Boyden said.

About 20 IU students gathered to hear the panel discussion.

“Religion is something you really cannot talk about in our culture in the U.S,” Eric Love, adviser of Theta Nu Xi, said.

The goal of the program was to get students to open up and get their questions out on the table without feeling ashamed.

“I’m here to inspire people to speak up on their faith and what they believe in, and I want people to feel open enough to share,” Boyden said.

With help from the audience, Boyden led the panel with discussion questions. Audience members were given the option of texting uncomfortable questions to the panel in hopes of getting anyone to speak up.

The panel discussed questions concerning each group’s mission as a campus organization, its viewpoints on the media’s take on the various religions and even each group’s religious outlook on homosexuality, a question which was asked via text.
Students shared personal stories regarding times they faced prejudice based on their religious identities.

“We all have a duty to research on our own and turn on our TVs to see what is actually happening,” said Sohaib Sajjad, representing the Muslim Student Association. “There are tons of misconceptions, and the Western media often does a bad job of portraying the norms.”

Hillel House representative Seth Lerman emphasized Hillel’s role in establishing a safe, tolerant community.

“Everyone should feel welcomed, and everyone should be accepted into the community,” Lerman said.