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Religions have a place on this campus

To the editor,

In response to Mr. Armstrong's recent column "God for sale, slightly used," I would like to say that I agree with his opinion but also defend the presence of Christian and other religious groups on campus. To be perfectly frank, Faith Christian Church (a.k.a. Wildcats for Christ) is a terrible example to use in examining student religious groups.

Faith Christian Church does hassle students. They aggressively target new students who are away from home (as can be seen by their strong presence in front of the dorms every fall). As Mr. Armstrong correctly observed, these people aren't stupid. They know how to "talk the talk," they work at befriending you and being chummy with you in an effort to get you among their own at their next meeting or event.

Of course, every club and student group exhibits some of this behavior. Strengthening membership, and attracting and welcoming new members is important and normal. However, Faith Christian Church continues to cross the boundaries of solicitation on the U of A campus and in the Tucson community. Through my work at a UA campus church, I can verify that Faith Christian Church has asked for donations from local mainline churches under very misleading premises. I would urge any student who has been harassed or hassled by this group to report it to Melissa Vito at the Dean of Students Office, at 621-7057.

I do believe that the presence of religious groups at educational institutions, such as the UA, is essential. College is a time of growth in mind, body, and spirit. I would hope that students do consider their relationship to God during their time in college.

Student religious groups can provide the spiritual growth and encouragement, and worshipping communities that students need and want. Zealots and extremists can be found in any category, including religion. To judge the whole group based on the actions of some misled zealots is not only incorrect, but ignorant.

As I said, I do hope students consider their relationship to God during their time in college...think about it today, now. Don't let one bad experience, or article, or laziness, or the judgment of others keep you from seeking out an established, legitimate church. The University Religious Council exists at the UA. It is a large association of religious groups on the UA campus, created to monitor and support religions on the UA campus in cooperation with the UA.

Interestingly, Faith Christian Church is not a part of this open association.

Jesse Pleger

Civil engineering graduate