Student Watch: Spring 2012

Whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or other religious groups, organizations across campus are answering to the same higher calling: community service.

The UW is one of more than 250 American universities participating in the White House-sponsored Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge, which encourages people from varying backgrounds to collaborate on public-service and education projects.

The initiative brings together campus organizations — such as the Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, the Morgridge Center for Public Service, and the Multicultural Student Center — to host lectures and events educating the public about various traditions. More than a dozen student organizations across the religious spectrum are participating as well, baking traditional Jewish bread to raise money for Challah for Hunger, for example, or hosting an interfaith youth camp as part of the Muslim Students Association.

All students can take advantage of a newly opened Reflection Room in Memorial Union, designed as a quiet and inviting space for solitude and meditation. Though its long-term location is uncertain as the building is remodeled, it is intended to become a permanent addition to campus.

Published in the Spring 2012 issue