Volume 124 Issue 104
kansan.com
Friday, February 24, 2012
SCHOOL
practicing faith in college
// ALLISON BOND
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEIGH LEE
E every Saturday, Michael Lebovitz can be found in his home keeping Shabbbs (also known as Shabbat), a Jewish day of rest, where no work is done in order to uphold God's seventh day of rest after creating the world. Lebovitz, a junior from Overland Park and president of the Chabad student leadership board, holds strictly to Jewish laws and observances as a way to express and practice his faith. Shabbos starts Friday night with a fun and relaxing community dinner at the Chabad house, on 19th Street and Naismith Drive. Lebovitz then goes to service Saturday morning, and the rest of the day is spent taking naps, playing cards and board games and hanging out with friends.
"I love Shabbos because it's a rest day," Lebovitz says. "We are so busy during the week. It's really nice not to have to check email and not be connected to your phone." Lebovitz and his roommate are in the minority of students who practice Shabbos fully on a weekly basis. Other students choose which Jewish holidays and rules they want to observe. "The Chabad house is really a place for religious awareness," Lebovitz says. "The main goal is to show that every Jew, no matter what kind of Jew they are, that they are still Jewish. There are things every day that everyone can do."
But what students are doing to hold their faith in college is decreasing. Twenty-five percent of Americans age 18 to 29 say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion, according to the Pew Research forum. That is an increase from the 16 percent not affiliated in the '90s. Only 17 percent of young adults at the age of 22 attend church, according to data collected from the General Social Survey.
"We are so busy during the week. It's really nice not to have to check email and not be connected to your phone."
Michael Lebovitz
The Chabad House, the world's largest Jewish outreach organization, seeks to overcome these growing trends by encouraging students to participate in their Jewish faith on a daily basis. Rabbi Zal-
man Tiechtel, advisor for the KU Chabad House, says he finds it rewarding to work with students in developing their faith. "College students are in a place in life where they can learn things. They're in a growth pattern. Whatever they learn and grow during this time has a tremendous impact for the rest of their life," Tiechtel says.
Jacob Walters, a junior from Overland Park, Kan. has found several benefits for practicing his faith in college. Walters believes that participating in the Chabad House has opened up a new social community for him, developing stronger relationships with those who share his faith. Being part of a faith community also helps Walters establish a worldly connection saying "It brings people together in all walks of life."
Lebovitz finds that his faith not only helps develop his identity but boost his studies as well. "It taught me discipline because the unique thing about Judaism is that it permeates every part of life." Lebovitz says. "I have learned to be precise and to plan ahead for school."
There is an old Jewish saying, "He who prepares for Shabbos, eats on Shabbos." Lebovitz says the same can be applied to life: the person that prepares is the person that succeeds.
10 WAYS OF KEEPING THE FAITH IN COLLEGE
Birmingham-Southern College
Birmingham-Southern College. a private liberal arts college in Birmingham Ala., affiliated with the United Methodist Church, offers tips for helping students grow in faith during college.
1. Listen to someone else's story. It can be powerful and prophytic.
2. Pray. It is in prayer that we find the motivation and clarity to practice our faith.
3. Watch for unique opportunities and ways of practicing your faith on campus.
4. Serve. College students are among the top recorded in number of service hours.Show your faith with your actions.
5. Think.Many times religion can be reactionary rather than thoughtful. We need to have both
6. Learn to be open toward others.
7. Write journals, letters, papers or articles to witness to your faith.
9. Hope. One way of hoping is to form caring relationships with peers. The insecurity of our day is an overwhelming burden for us to bear; caring relationships are a powerful witness in our hope for the future.
8. Study your holy text. When one studies one's thought, processes take on the order and form of that which one is studying.
10. Love. Love is the root of all religion and the means of faith. Love motivates us toward others.
From the left to the right: Sam Kovzan, sophomore from Leawood and Tansey Schoonover, a freshman from Roswell, Georgia, work on speeches for their communication class while Emin Pfeifer, a freshman from Hays, studies biology. Kovzan said they had been camping for about 30 minutes when several basketball players came out for a press conference.
LUKE RANKER/KANSAN
Normally, the camping is not as intense. But for Missouri, everyone is trying to get the best seats possible.
students descend on the north concourse of Allen Fieldhouse to ensure their camping group keeps its spot in line for the Missouri game. With this contest set to be the last tilt in the foreseeable future of a rivalry that predates the advent of collegiate athletics, students are desperate to secure their seat and witness history.
"I just know usually within the first few days people drop like flies, but only one group has dropped out ahead of us so far," Vipond said.
"I think it's pretty crazy," Colin Vipond, a freshman from Omaha, said. "Being from Nebraska, it's all about football. Now it's all about basketball. I was in shock when I even first heard about camping."
"It was good." Kyle Haley, a junior from Hays, said about interacting with the players. "It's different I guess, knowing they're my age. It's kind of unique that they're as popular as they are."
Haley got to split a Pizza Hut cheese pizza, delivered to him by junior guard Elijah Johnson, with another camper. But pizza time is not the only time the campers can catch a glimpse of the players.
pushed junior forward Thomas Robinson around in a laundry hamper as the players delivered pizza.
Worse than waking up early is the fear that a camper might oversleep his or her shift. In her freshman year, Maggie Hirschi, a senior from St. Louis, Mo., woke up at 5:55 a.m. for her 6 a.m. camping shift at the Fieldhouse before a game against Texas. She rushed over from her Oliver Hall dorm room but arrived too late, and her group lost its number three camping spot.
surf the Internet. Sometimes I sleep, if you have an early shift, but it's really hard on this floor."
"I'm looking at the gods of our school," Tansey Schoonover, a freshman from Roswell, Ga, said as students gathered to watch the men's basketball team walk to practice.
The men's and women's bas-
The north concourse will continue to bustle with student activity until numbers are handed out three hours before tip-off on Saturday.
"Mizzou ones just are always fun because you see the dedication students have to come to these games," Hirschi said.
Students try to maintain sanity during hours of camping. Vipond's group pitched in together to purchase an air mattress that
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Both teams will continue winning basketball games. Missouri might even win a championship in the SEC. But left in the wake of Saturday's game will be a tremendous void that a hundred games against West Virginia or South Carolina could never fill.
Kansas without Missouri is like Batman without The Joker or the Hatfields without the McCoys. Would anyone really care about one without the other? Thanks to a need for attention from one side and a stubbornness from the other, we are about to find out.
When the game ends, win or lose, take one last mental picture of the aftermath. Because if the power holders get their way, that memory is all your children and grandchildren may ever know of one of the greatest rivalries ever played.
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Today's Weather
Get your ticket for the Campus Movie Series at the Kansas Union. Tonight's featured film is "The Muppets."
Strong winds, mostly cloudy.