A new inter-faith community residence option will allow 11 students to explore issues of faith and religion within their residence halls beginning next fall. Residents of the living community, planned for the ground floor of Ripley Hall, will participate in weekly discussions, host social events and attend faith-related workshops.
"We wanted to have a group that was devoted to the experience of living together and getting to know one another," said Kurt Nelson, the multi-faith intern at the Tucker foundation and the project's founder. "We're hoping to draw from as many perspectives as want to participate."
All students can participate in the program, whether they are agnostic, spiritual, humanist, religious or simply intellectually curious about faith, Nelson said. Nelson stressed that the community was an open learning forum to facilitate interaction among students from a variety of religious, moral and spiritual traditions, not a "theological commitment."
Nelson has received positive feedback about the program from groups such as the Multi-Faith Council, which plans events related to discussion of faith and spirituality, he said. Nelson advises the Council.
"Dartmouth students are really hungering for safe places for conversing about religion," Nelson said. "It is an important topic but it can be hard to broach sometimes."
The program has "a lot of flexibility" because it is in its first year, Nelson said. Nelson will meet individually with the residents once or twice per term to monitor the program's progress and students' particular interests.
Nelson conceived of the program when he attended a religious pluralism conference at Tufts. At the conference, Nelson learned about similar programs at other schools, like Wellesley College, which has had an inter-faith living community for the past three years.
Peter Lawrence, one of Wellesley's program coordinators, said the program has been successful. The participants reach out to each other in un-structured settings and weekly discussion groups,
"They make it a habit to sit out in the lounge area instead of their room so that they can have a lot of contact with each other," Lawrence said. "There's a lot of informal discussion outside of the weekly discussion group."
The Wellesley program is open to all students in all classes, and most students stay in the community for many years, Lawrence said. The Wellesley program received approximately 20 applications for 11 spots, according to Lawrence.
Nelson was unsure of how selective Dartmouth's program will be or the number of people who will apply, although he has already received some applications, he said. The application deadline is Thursday.
