Deborah Irwin reached for not one, but two plastic noisemakers.
She listened. She waited. And then, she enthusiastically shook the toys.
The special education deaf education senior joined fellow Jewish students at Chabad House in East Lansing in a century-old tradition of heckling Haman — the villain in the story of Purim. Rabbi Hendel Weingarten said he created Chabad House about two years ago to provide a haven for Jewish students to practice and grow in their faith.
Not only can Irwin continue to take part in Jewish holidays while she's in college; she eats dinner at Chabad House every Friday evening.
But she said sometimes it's a struggle to remain religious while in college.
"This is the way we were raised," she said. "It's difficult to stay as Orthodox when you grow up."
Religious group leaders on campus say membership is thriving. MSU has about 48 student groups affiliated with religion, compared to 15 at Central Michigan University, 23 at Western Michigan University and about 70 at the University of Michigan. The groups represent a wide range of beliefs from Christianity to Buddhism. Studies show religious participation among college students remains relatively high. About 80 percent of students attended religious services during a one-year period and a comparable amount discuss religion with family and friends, according to a study released last year by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA.
But some say compared to decades ago, the pressures of college and the country's current social climate push religion to the background of many students' lives.
Music education and music performance freshman Jessie Neilson was not brought up in a religious household and doesn't practice now.
"I was surprised to see how many people had ashes on their forehead on Ash Wednesday," she said. "I always thought church was a chore … But my friends said the churches were packed."
Many leaders of MSU religious groups, including Spartan Christian Fellowship and the Muslim Students' Association, said membership has steadily increased during the past few years.
"There is a definite feel and hunger for seeking spiritual tolerance," said Jessica Dunham, a leader in Abundant Life Fellowship. "I think people want more. They're searching. They're hungry. They want something different. They want to know if God is real and if he works."
Sociology Professor Jualynne Dodson said she doesn't believe students develop lifelong religious trends during their college years, but they grow in other ways if they take advantage of what a university atmosphere has to offer.
"For students who take college seriously, the college experience should provide them an opportunity to be exposed to information and if they've done well in their college education, they learn about people in the world and the differences between us," Dodson said.
Mathematics junior Leah Meerkov grew up in a religious home, and said religion as a priority is something that really depends on the individual.
"Some people go (to MSU) and become more religious," she said. "It depends on the person — how much information they can get and who they are."
