48 | THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM | BACK TO SCHOOL | MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2007
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BYTYLER HARBERT
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Students who are feeling lost can find their way at any number of religious organizations on campus.
A list of all the 45 on-campus religious groups can be found by visiting http://wwwku.edu/organizations/ and then choosing "Religious" from the group search toolbar.
One group is the Muslim Student Association, which is part of a larger, nationwide group of Muslim students.
"Our mission is to have students work as a group in a very peaceful way," said Saleh Alshumrni, former vicepresident of MSA.
faith here on campus and elsewhere, while participating in activities that stay within the frame of Islamic rules.
"I like to work with people and the group gave me the chance to meet different cultures and people," he said.
Group membership is open to students of all faiths and Alshummi said he got involved with the group to serve his religion and make new friends.
He said the group tries to remove the misconceptions about the Islamic
To join the group, check out the
Alshummi said some of the more popular events the group sponsors every year are the Fast-A-Thon during Ramadan and Islamic Awareness Week, which features a different activity every day including an open house at the Islamic Center of Lawrence at 19th and Naismith streets and various lectures during the rest of the week.
MSA's Web site at www.msaku.com.
Another group is KU Hillel, which is a Jewish student organization that's been active on campus for six years.
Liz Cohen, a member of the senior advisory group for KU Hillel, said the first opportunity to get involved with the group will come on the first Sunday after classes start. KU Hillel will sponsor a get-together at Abe and Jake's Landing, 8 E. 6th St., which will feature a comedy group, lots of ice cream and new friends because anybody is welcome.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Shoes are removed before meditation and chanting begins for the members of the KU Amitabha Buddhist Association. The Buddhists gathered at 7:30 Friday night for two hours of meditation in 4007 Wesco. KU Amitabha Buddist Association was started in 1992 and became an official association in 1998.
The group also wants to focus on larger world issues such as sustainability and will sponsor a number of lectures and events this year.
Cohen said the best way to get involved with KU Hillel is to go to Hillet-sponsored program or contact a student already in the group.
She too has made a number of friends since joining the group.
"It makes KU seem like a smaller community," Cohen said. "Everyone's really close."
If students are looking to meet a group of like-minded individuals who get together to discuss different aspects of the Pagan religion, the Wiccan Pagan Alliance might be a nice fit.
Recent graduate and former member Chelsea Medlock said the group discusses different Pagan topics and spells during its meetings and that every six weeks the group takes time to celebrate different Pagan holidays.
"Usually we have a ritual showing reverence for the earth and the deities and elements," Medlock said.
She said the group is open to all faiths and students can join by going to the group's Web site at http://groups.ku.edu/~wpa01.
Some members of Christ Community Evangelical Free Church, 1100 Kasold Dr., formed the Crossroads Student Ministry so students at the church could have access to meeting places on campus.
Mark Knight, pastor to students at Christ Community Church, said the group doesn't meet regularly on campus, but at the church does hold weekly Bible study sessions at 10 a.m. at the church.
Students can join the group by going to the church and Knight said the group was open to anybody.
"You don't even have to be a Christian, but you're going to hear about Christ at our group." Knight said.