Upon completion of this project, I have many more questions than answers. Which I think might be the point. I have always been proud of my openness to people different from myself, but I was shocked to realize that this project helped me to make my first Muslim friend. As a Women’s Studies degree holder and a feminist, I have committed myself to working to make the world a better place for women. And yet I had never talked to anyone about the significance of the veil in Islam, and – in addition to the religious connection – what a feminist statement that might be.
I am sorry that I did not have the opportunity to interview a Jewish student this term, however that is the religious tradition I am most familiar with. I would have liked to have talked to more students, and this project reminded me how much I enjoy my chances to interact with students on campus. My role as a fundraiser limits my student connection, which is one of the only things I dislike about my job.
Moving forward, I hope to continue to grow in my understanding of diverse student populations. As John Hardt has said, “the atheist on campus is as important as the Jesuit.” Dialogue with people who are different from us is what allows us to grow, and I hope that I will take with me the commitment to discovery that this project has encouraged in me.
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