After 12 hours of fasting, Muska Fahim counts down the minutes until the sun goes down — then she can eat again. As the sun dips below the horizon she has visions of the foods she would enjoy back home as she waits in line at the Hub.
For many students, celebrating religious holidays at school requires going out of their way, but for some, the process brings them closer to their faith.
Fahim, a senior, is the president of the Muslim Student Association and has on many occasions had to plan events or drive 30 minutes to Plainfield to observe religious holidays. She said that, though not the same as celebrating at home, the holidays still hold great meaning.
She described Ramadan, a Muslim holiday that involves the fasting of food and other practices in order to remain clean in the eyes of God and appreciate his gift of the Qur'an to the prophet Mohammad:
"At home, you'll get lots of food, and everyone is preparing it, and by the end of the day, there's a bunch of food and celebration, and here by the end of the day you get [the] Hub," Fahim said. "It's different, but I still enjoy it."
Though Fahim is not immersed in her religious practices as she is at home, she said the experience of being away has helped her grow.
"I think I gained more because I'm away from [my religion]," Fahim said. "When I'm back home, I'm reminded of it by things all over, but when I'm here I have to remind myself."
Sophomore Scott Graf has also found challenges in observing Jewish holidays such as Passover, a celebration involving fasting of all unleavened bread in order to remember the story of Exodus in which God helped the people of Israel escape slavery in Egypt.
"It's not easy, but it's not overly difficult either," Graf said. "At home, I have my mom to cook for me, so when I'm there, my family will celebrate the holidays and prepare the food, so that's what I'm going to eat anyways, whereas at DePauw I either have to eat what we're having at my house or go out and find my own food."
Director of the Center for Spiritual Life Kate Smanik said she believes students practicing any religion at DePauw have ample support and need to take the initiative to ask should they need assistance.
"I think there has been a culture of ‘the university doesn't support this' or ‘we don't do that,' but it's not necessarily true," Smanik said. "The university does a really good job of supporting religion, but I think it's really important for students to be articulate about their needs."
Professor of religious studies Russell Arnold said the years spent in college are for many, including himself, an important time in developing a religious identity, so support services are important
"[College] is an opportunity especially because there is enough separation from home and the traditions of home that it allows for exploration," Arnold said. "And maybe there is enough anxiety about the future that it allows some urgency to that exploration in personal ways."
Senior representative of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Alaina Hobbs also said she thinks that cbollege years are a definitive time for the development of faith, but for students raised Christian, she believes it can be detrimental.
"A lot of people have had religious experience in the past, and when they come to school they decide not to make that a part of their DePauw experience," Hobbs said. "I wish more would be open to it. I don't think it's a huge shortcoming of DePauw — I think it's just part of what it means to be a college student."
For some students, college experiences help them discover their faiths, but for others this can have the opposite effect.
And for others, their already present faith gains strength. For Fahim, driving 30 minutes and fasting only to feast on Hub food at the end of the day is well worth the effort.
