One of the great things about university life is the chance for students to reinvent themselves. We leave behind everything we were for 18 years and slowly rebuild a life from materials that, for the first time, we choose for ourselves.
Put more dramatically: We "find ourselves."
With luck, we spend our years at college growing in our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. As a public institution, Ball State does a great job helping us improve the first three. First-rate athletic facilities are available to everyone on campus. Counseling is free for the asking. Classes, ideally, keep our minds growing constantly.
It is harder to determine the effectiveness of the spiritual opportunities available to students. Thirty-four religious groups are listed on the BSU Web site, and there are probably more.
While it's great to have so many options, the real question is found in Ball State's advertisements: Is it everything we need?
The church I left behind when I came to Muncie was part of my life for about six years. I remember sitting in a pew before I left for Ball State, looking around at the plain grey brick walls covered in colorful banners and the simple metal chair and table waiting on the altar below.
I was worried that I wouldn't find a place in Muncie that felt as natural to me. On my first Sunday at Ball State, I rode my bike down Riverside in the driving rain, looking for the church that had sent me an invitation during the summer.
I was afraid I would find a traditional, stuffy place, but I found a simple low-slung building sitting behind a picturesque house.
When I came to college, I knew what kind of spiritual life I wanted, and was fortunate to find a welcoming community that both reminds me of home and challenges me in new ways. I have made more friends there than I could possibly count.
But many students aren't so fortunate. Some attend the church, temple, synagogue or mosque at home, but they don't when they come to Muncie. They can't find a place that meets their needs or that would help them pursue their spiritual growth.
Others never join a faith community at home or at Ball State. For whatever reason, the idea doesn't appeal to them. For some of these people, of course, spirituality is just not a priority. The rest may prefer a private belief, or perhaps they, too, have never found a place that fits.
Still others can't understand how that could happen: these students were never involved in a religious community at home, but when they came to college, they found a place that makes them feel fulfilled. Probably they weren't even sure what they were looking for, but one of Ball State's many choices was exactly what they needed.
I hope to hear from students of all of these types. I am working on a series of articles about spiritual experiences and opportunities on Ball State's campus, and input from people with a wide range of experiences, from many different creeds and backgrounds, is crucial.
stevehj@mac.comRead More
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