The week will contain a series of events, including a talk given by Dr. B. Alan Wallace , a lecturer on Buddhism, and a Shabbat dinner on Friday night in conjunction with the Hillel Jewish Student Center and the Jewish Student Union.
Interdisciplinary studies sophomore Elyssa Hurwitz said the main focus of Religious Awareness Week is not only to create awareness, but to let students know they have a safe place to talk about religion and the social issues that come with it.
“I think as a campus we don’t really talk a whole lot about religion,” Hurwitz said. “Not everybody believes the same things, (but) we can all talk about it.”
Hurwitz, who serves as the Campus Interfaith Council cultural liaison , said the concept of the council and the Religious Awareness Week is about listening.
She said one of the main aims is trying to understand where other people are coming from with their beliefs and opinions, and that’s something the week is supposed to promote. “I’m not trying to change anyone’s beliefs,” she said.
She said she is looking forward to the week.
She said she has put a considerable amount of work into making this week happen by reaching out to different religious, secular and cultural groups on campus.
Hurwitz said the council has opened her eyes to new perspectives on religion.
She said she hopes hosted dialogues will do the same for other students.
Sam Appel, a program associate at Hillel, said he has helped promote the week’s events and has worked on putting together a Shabbat dinner for the culmination of the week.
Appel said the Shabbat dinner is a way of welcoming the Sabbath, which is a day of rest on Saturdays per Jewish tradition.
He said he was excited to be working with the Campus Interfaith Council and hoped to get a higher attendance for the Shabbat dinner.
“We welcome anyone to attend our Shabbat,” Appel said.
He said he hopes for non-Jewish students to attend, too, to get a feel of the Jewish tradition.
Hurwitz and Appel both said there would be a dialogue called “Ask Big Questions” ?surrounding the Shabbat dinner.
He said the dialogue would focus on the importance of taking a day of rest in general and not just according to Jewish religious traditions.
Religious studies and arts and humanities junior Dakota Riehl , co-chair on the council, said she is hoping to have more students attend and engage in events.
In the past, programs like Religious Awareness Week has been unsuccessful, she said.
“This year we wanted to bring it back because we wanted to fix the program and get people involved and it’s a great way to spread cultural awareness,” Riehl said.
Staff reporter Sierra Lay contributed to this report.
