The public school system, even in its branches of higher education as in universities such as our own, has endured a rocky history with religion. The governing principle of a separate church and state, depending on personal views, has proved to be less a a battlefield for debate as to where the line should be drawn.
Yet a good model for the coexistence between these seemingly opposing institutions exists at UA. The major religious centers on campus - the Hillel Foundation, the Islamic Center of Tucson and Campus Christian Center - have successfully and admirably managed to foster an involved yet non-intrusive relationship with the university and its students, steering clear of the fanatical associations made by many on campus as a result of the less-than-subtle "mall preachers" while initiating a community involvement that serves to help students through their collegiate careers.
These centers serve many useful functions that the university itself is either unable to provide or, when it does so, executes unsatisfactorily. One such function is the creation of an identifiable and firmly rooted community within the larger and multifaceted community of the university at large that can give students a sense of place and belonging. Moreover, as with the Islamic Center of Tucson, these centers further help international students become acclimated to this country in order that their studies here prove to be more successful.
And even as they seek to maintain their own distinct identity, these institutions avoid any isolationism by fostering ties between each other. Rev. Allen Breckenridge, the Episcopal Chaplain of the Campus Christian Center, told the Wildcat that these centers have made plans for interfaith functions that will seek to "address students' needs and educate them about religion at the same time." In a university supposedly devoted to the educational experience of living among diverse cultures, bridge-gapping endeavors like these provide the practical application of that lofty ideal.
Some students may believe that these centers have no place at a public university, and others, while they are indifferent to their presence, may simply not take advantage of what these institutions have to offer, but, while the Wildcat does not endorse any one particular faith, it most certainly does support institutions like these that promote diversity and provide support, spiritual and otherwise, to students who just may be in need of it.
