By EMILIA OTTE, Staff Writer
A recent disagreement over the presence of religious idols in the Prayer Room in Aelwyd, the Religious House on Cambrian Row, has led the Interfaith Council to reexamine the way in which different faith groups could best utilize the non-denominational prayer space.
The Interfaith Council was officially established this year as a way of facilitating dialogue between students of all faith groups and non-faith groups. At the first meeting of the Council, certain groups voiced concern that people might feel uncomfortable worshipping their faith in a space that housed other religious symbols. According to Kayla Schneider-Smith, one of the Interfaith Student Co-Coordinators, the question arose in response to a Hindu shrine that belongs to the Dharmic Students Association. Schneider-Smith said that the shrine is “very visible” and that groups on campus had “differing perspectives” as to whether the room should be “an interfaith space, where everyone can keep their different symbols of worship and co-exist together, or whether it should be…a neutral space”.
According to Vanessa Christman, Assistant Dean of the College for Access and Community Development, the school opened the prayer room in 2004 with the intention of providing “a quiet, non-denominational prayer space”. As of now, students are allowed to store objects of worship in the space, and several groups, the DSA and the MSA (Muslim Students Association) among them, house their religious objects in the room.
Schneider-Smith believes the question of whether the prayer room should be a neutral space or a multi-purpose space of religious symbols may have started in response to an incident over the summer, when some of the idols in the Hindu shrine were stolen.
Mina Bansal, co-president of the DSA, says that Christman brought to her attention several weeks ago that certain groups were “uncomfortable” with their presence in the room. The DSA is an organization comprised of students who practice religions based upon the concept of dharma, including, among others, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains. The nearest temple, according to Bansal, is forty minutes away from campus and not easily accessible by public transportation. Bansal, along with other members of the DSA, declined to discuss the issue in more detail, as the parties have not had a chance to speak with one another “at length.”
Schneider-Smith gives credence to both sides of the discussion. “On one hand, we think, as interfaith coordinators, it’s a really moving idea to have a lot of different religions and representations of faith coexist in one room together, because that’s what we’re trying to promote: interfaith on campus. But on the other hand we want everyone to feel comfortable, that’s also our job.” She advised those attending the meeting to discuss the issue with their respective groups.
She has also proposed several potential solutions to the problem. For instance, designating one-half of the prayer room as a neutral space and using the other half of the room for storage. “I’m not sure the students ultimately make the decision.” Schneider-Smith commented. “It might be administrative.”