By Katelyn Norris and Leah Wilkinson
Bellarmine may be a Catholic-affiliated university, but the student population of BU is comprised of more than students of the Catholic faith.
BU has students from all spiritualities and faiths, as well as students who are agnostic and atheist. Every student has a unique experience, and junior Spencer Caudill is no different. Caudill, who leans more toward atheism, said he sees a lot of the Catholic influences at BU, but said compared to other Catholic schools, Bellarmine is a lot more welcoming.
“I’ve never felt like I was out of place here. I’ve talked to Catholic students and there have been occasions where I’ve felt a little bit off,” Caudill said. “Not necessarily like I’ve been pushed out of a group or a conversation, just little moments in a conversation where being an atheist or an agnostic student can be a little uncomfortable, but for the most part it is very much a welcoming place.”
Sophomore Emma Seibert, who practices paganism, said her biggest fear before coming to Bellarmine was how much religion was going to be “thrown in her face.” Because her practice is private, she said she often doesn’t worry too much about BU being a Catholic affiliated school.
“My practice, it’s just something I do. And in going here I forget it’s a Catholic college until I walk by the chapel or someone mentions it again,” Seibert said.
Senior Cassadi McGrath, who is a newly practicing pagan, said her spiritual journey at BU began in Campus Ministry. As a student worker in the Campus Ministry office, she said she has seen the office’s efforts to do research for interfaith events. McGrath said she has always felt accepted in those spaces and Campus Ministry tries its best to include everyone in its interfaith work.
“Never once did I feel judged or to the other extent. I can’t remember a time that my identity, being so different in the office, was ever tokenized,” McGrath said. “They are really good about just like kind of letting you exist and be who you are.”
Sophomore Bilal Qazi, who practices Islam, said he has seen Campus Ministry and the interfaith events it creates for its students. He said he has met a few other Muslim students through those events.
Qazi said another interfaith aspect of campus he enjoys in the Interfaith Reflection Room on the top floor of the library. He said it has been an excellent spot for him when he needs to pray while being on campus. He also said likes to look in the journal in the room, which is filled with the names of those who use it and what faith they practice.
“It’s really cool to see like almost everybody who writes there is Muslim,” Qazi said. “I don’t know that many Muslims on campus, but it’s kinda cool to see that it’s being used so much by other people who are also Muslim.”
Seibert said she doesn’t really have a place on campus to practice because of the very private nature of paganism. She said her practice is very personal and she only feels comfortable when practicing in her dorm room. She said she is prohibited from lighting candles, however, and those residence hall rules limit her ability to perform all her rituals.
“It is very hard to just practice at all. It’s a very interactive thing, and it’s not like I can go anywhere else on campus and do it. It kind of looks alarming to people,” Seibert said.
Junior Andrea Doll is Jewish. One concern Doll has about Bellarmine is the university’s lack of communication about other religious holidays. Doll said it would be considerate of the university to inform faculty and professors about holidays like Yom Kippur, which, when observed, includes fasting and being out of class.
“I think if professors could understand that, [and] I think many probably do, but for those who don’t, it would just be nice. If there was some sort of communication so then, you know, professors are like ‘Oh what? You’re not coming to class for this,’” Doll said.
Qazi said he wants the same types of communication for Islamic holiday as well. He said typically Ramadan is a month-long fasting, so the university’s communicating that to faculty would be beneficial for BU’s Muslim students.
He also said he thinks BU could benefit from providing more Halal or Kosher meat for its Muslim students.
“There aren’t [many] meat options for me and any other Muslims,” Qazi said. “More seafood would be nice since that is something we can eat without worrying.”
McGrath said she thinks BU is on the right path when it comes to being inclusive of all its students’ beliefs. Although she said she doesn’t see a lot of Catholicsm on campus, it would be nice for other students to see their faith represented as well.
Qazi said he knows it’s a big favor to ask BU to accommodate small groups of students. He said he believes that by fleshing out programs already in place it will make better campus for everyone.
“I would say trying to keep everyone welcome and everyone involved — even non-religious people — is something they can work on,” Qazi said. “They could try and do more even though it would be more for a few students you know. There would still be part of the student body benefitting.”