>> Welcome back to Chatapalooza 2012.
This chat is going to be focused on religious
and spiritual life at Dartmouth.
This is an opportunity for you to ask us questions.
Just post your questions on the chat and we'll answer them.
Hi, my name is Kimberly Mendez.
I'm 13, from San Antonio Texas.
I'm a Psyche and English double major.
And on campus, I am the Co-Director
of a community service organization called Let's Get
Ready and I also work in the admissions office.
>> Hi everybody my name is Noah Richflim [phonetic].
I'm a 15, so a freshmen here on campus.
I'm a Government major and a double minor
in International Studies in Public Policy.
I also write for the Dartmouth and I'm on Student Assembly.
>> Hi everyone, I'm Alice, I'm from Edison, New Jersey.
I'm a 13, so a junior.
I'm a Government and Religion double major.
And on campus, I'm an undergraduate adviser
and I also am the president
of the Dartmouth Chinese Culture Society.
>> Great, so right now we're just going talk
with you little bit about the Tucker Foundation
which is an organization that sort
of governs all the community service
and multifaith organizations on campus.
Alice, do you want to speak a little bit
about your involvement with Tucker?
>> Sure, I've been involved with Tucker since--
well most extensively since my sophomore year.
And my involvement there was mostly
with the Alternative Spring Break trip program which is
like their, I think, 6 or 7 different spring break trips
that go to various places across the country.
And the one I went on the first year was the San Francisco.
It was called the Faith in Action trip.
So it was an interfaith group that went to San Francisco
and we worked on the issue of homelessness with youth
and families in the Bay Area.
And this year, I led the same trip, except it was a DC,
and it's been, honestly,
one of like the most meaningful experiences
of my Dartmouth life.
It's just really nice to have 10 days unadulterated by academics
and stuff to really get to know like 15 other people,
do meaningful service work, and then just to reflect and have
like really nice interfaith discussions
that we don't really get to do much while we're
like in the whole school mode.
So it's been really, really fun, and I just got back from it,
so I'm still on like a really huge high from like working
with really cool people.
>> Yeah, great.
>> Yeah, in terms of Tucker, I'm involved in Hillel
which is the Center for Jewish Life.
And what I really like about it is more
than being a religious center,
it's also a great small community.
So they have events, actually, every night of the week.
And it's just one of those places, you know,
on Friday nights, a nice place to speak to--
>> Yeah.
>> -- have a nice dinner and meet some people.
So I really, in terms of Tucker, enjoyed both the religion
as well as the community side of it.
And another thing that I've noticed, which is nice
through Tucker, is that something that I'm going
through now, is that if you're interested in a community
or a religious based internship, or off-campus experience--
>> Yeah.
>> -- which I think they talked about in maybe one
of the earlier chats, but they will actually give you funding
and support.
So not only is Tucker really prevalent on campus but it has--
it gives you many opportunities to explore religion
and spiritual life outside of Hanover as well.
>> Great. We do want to remind you, just right now,
to post your questions if you have any
about the Tucker Foundation or about religious
and spiritual life on campus.
'Cause we will be able answering those questions throughout
this chat.
So just a little bit about another religious center
on campus that I'm involved in which is the Aquinas House,
that's the catholic student organization
and we have masses there daily,
also other activities such as retreats.
We have a weekly dinner.
It's just another way that you can get involved in religions
and spiritual life on campus.
Here's a question that we're getting,
is their a mosque near campus?
And how active is the Muslim Student Association
on the campus?
Can either of you speak to that?
>> I don't know that there is a mosque near campus but I know
that in Rollins Chapel which is on campus,
there are like multiple, I guess, rooms in the chapel
that are used for like various different religious groups.
So I know that-- I'm not--
I'm pretty sure that the Muslims Student Association meets there.
And then also there's a Hindu Student Association
that meets there as well.
So there are a lot of spaces within Rollins Chapel which is
like kind of a nondenominational type of like place--
spot on campus that they reserve for students
of different religious backgrounds to practice in.
>> Okay, great.
Another question that we just got is,
are Bible study groups available at Dartmouth?
Alice, I know you said that you were involved in sort
of multifaith activities on campus.
Do you know anything about subgroups?
>> I'm not sure if there's like a structured Bible study group.
Do you-- would you--
>> Yeah, they're all-- there are more multiple Bible study groups
on campus--
>> Okay.
>> -- for different religions so--
>> Yeah.
>> -- for instance, when I'm involved
in this every Tuesday night, there is Torah study at Hillel.
But there are similar groups for other organizations.
And I actually think that there will be information posted
on the chats about those.
But each organization, in general, will have some form
of Bible or script study group which serves as a component
in addition to the regular religious services as well.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay. I know also at AQ, they have women's groups
that have discussions solely for women
and they also have Bible study groups weekly
in a different location.
So let's see.
The next topic, I think, will be dietary restrictions.
So if we'll just talk about how DDS is addressing the
nutrition-- the nutritional values of a new dining plan,
the new '53 Commons that we have.
I know-- I've looked on the internet a few times
and they do post the nutritional facts now.
So they have all that on the internet daily
and updated weekly with the new menus.
So I definitely think that Dartmouth is making a new push
for nutritional awareness, I guess.
And there's, I think, almost positive
as the nutritionist available on campus
to address any health issues like that.
So that's one thing.
>> And then addition to being a nutritionist,
I do know the new dining hall-- we have 6 dining areas on campus
but the biggest one, the '53 Commons,
those have a Kosher Hillel station?
>> Yeah.
>> In addition, they will mark certain foods
in dietary restrictions to us.
So they're very open to that.
And like you said, they do have a nutritionist
and there are resources available.
So there's no need to worry about any--
>> Yeah
>> -- type of, you know, finding whatever food fits your
dietary restriction.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
>> I'd say my experience with it is
that it's extremely accommodating.
>> Okay. Noah, you said you were involved
in the [inaudible] Center in Hillel.
Do you want to speak a little bit more to that?
>> Sure. So there's kind of two sections.
There's the [inaudible] Center in Hillel and then in addition,
we have Chabad which is more the Orthodox Jewish Center.
But in terms of the [inaudible] Center in Hillel,
in addition to being like a sort religious
and kind of community based.
So every night, they have different activities.
You know, they will have services
on Fridays and Saturdays.
But then for instance every Thursdays night, there's dinner
or something for freshmen, just to get to know each other,
and there's activities and games.
Every Wednesday afternoon,
you can go to the Dartmouth Bookstore which has a Starbucks
and you can get a free coffee and talk
about whatever you want, whether it is, you know, about the Torah
or maybe if you're just having a really interesting discussion
about your Math class, you can talk about that as well.
And then Monday night, there's always meetings
which is open to the entire public.
So there are things throughout the week.
And in addition, Hillel is also open
to all community members in the Hanover area.
So we will have professors and their children there as well
as certain Hanover residents come to stop by,
especially for the bigger holidays and services.
>> Okay, great.
Alice do you want to talk about a little bit more
about your involvement in the multifaith activities and--
at your own chapel and the things
that you've been involved in.
>> Sure. So on campus, besides doing the
like the Alternative Spring Break trip stuff through Tucker,
Tucker also has a Multifaith Council
which meets every Tuesday in the evenings
and we just all have dinner together.
>> Okay.
>> And we just talked about kind of very, I guess,
abstract kind of things.
The most recent Multifaith Council meeting was
about vocation and like how we-- using our spi--
our like spirituality and our faith context come to find
like what's the job or what's our calling and what we want
to do after graduation and things like that.
So, it's very loosely structured and what I really love about it,
kind of like what you guys have been saying about your--
the organizations your involved in is
about it just really builds a really strong sense
of community and-- especially around interfaith dialogue,
that's so meaningful, and I think very rare elsewhere.
It's just really nice to come together with people
from so many different religious contexts and speak so honestly
about issues that like affect all of us.
Like vocation is just a very general topic
but it's something we can all come together on
and bring our different views
into one dinner discussion together.
So I've really have enjoyed that a lot.
>> Yeah, great.
I think we just got a question, it's a little unrelated,
but we'll answer it anyway.
How do you recommend getting to Dartmouth from the airport?
That's a great question actually.
So I'm from Texas, so it takes me really long time
to get to Dartmouth.
It's like an entire day adventure.
So a lot of people normally fly into Boston
and then there's the Dartmouth Coach that picks
up literally right outside the baggage claim
at Boston Logan Airport.
And it's about a 2-1/2 hour, 3 hour--
2-1/2, 3-hour drive on the Dartmouth Coach
from the airport, drops you off right on campus and right
in front of the green.
So that's pretty much the easiest way to get here.
There's also another like a Greyhound busses
that can get you from around the New Hampshire area
if you're flying into like a Manchester Airport
or something like that.
But I think the most popular choice is flying the Logan
and getting the Dartmouth Coach.
The Dartmouth Coach also has a daily bus to New York City.
So if you fly into there, I think they pick you
up right near Grand Central Station.
So that's an easy alternative too.
One more question is, what is your favorite part
about spiritual or religious life at Dartmouth?
>> So I can-- I mean for me, I think we kind of talked
about it a little earlier but the reason why I was attracted
to Hillel, was really for the community aspect.
And it's a great way starting at dimensions really but also--
>> Yeah.
>> -- your first week on campus.
Define people with a similar or background or interest
to you and just connect.
And what's nice about it for me is there are group--
people who are always willing to talk about really anything.
>> Yeah.
>> And they're also there kind
of throughout your entire Dartmouth career.
So whether you switch from being a Government major
to Math major, you know, I'll still have [inaudible] there
to go to the Friday nights if I want.
So for me, it's just kind
of the relaxed community aspect that's a constant from--
>> Yeah.
>> Great.
>> I'd say, I had like the opposite sort of experience is
that religion wasn't something that I was really exposed
to before I came to Dartmouth but I found an academic interest
in it, so one of my majors is this Religion and I just
like really wanted to get to know more.
And so, the best way that is was able to do so was
through all these other programs and organizations
where there were just like such a huge congregation of people
who are interested about talking about their spiritually
and how it's helped them and like what is meant to them
to discover their religious life at Dartmouth.
And so, having all of these like organizations
that are totally accessible to anyone who's interested
at all has been really meaningful for me
because I just been able to like explore it so much more.
>> I think-- so what you are saying Noah about having
that community, I think one of my favorite things
about the Aquinas House is the fact that, you don't always have
to go there just for mass
or something religious or spiritual.
>> Yeah.
>> They just-- last year, they just actually sort
of renovated a space in Aquinas House
to make a little coffee house.
So now you can go to there to study.
You can go there just hangout with friends.
They also have, like I said,
weekly like little community dinners.
So there are a lot of the different activities
that you can get involved in at your religious
or spiritual center that don't necessarily have to be times
of worship or something like that.
So, yeah, it's really become sort of a community and--
yeah, it's-- I think that's my a favorite part about that.
So we got a question, can you elaborate on religious
and spiritual academic opportunities?
I think maybe that's a little bit what you were talking
about Alice--
>> Sure.
>> -- of your ASB.
>> Yeah. So-- well I want to do the academic part
of it first I guess is--
>> Yeah, yeah.
>> -- I came-- like I said,
I just came to Dartmouth not really having any sort
of religious context.
And then my first term here, I was encouraged
by [inaudible] trip, my first year trip leader was taking
religion in class because he was a Religion major
and just kind of explore.
And I took it and I absolutely loved it.
You know, it was called bioethics.
And it was about like religious context in sort
of like medicine, modern medicine and things like that
and it was just awesome.
So I continued taking Religion classes like just
about every term until I realized about--
I'm about to finish the Religion major.
So it's been absolutely great.
I think, all of the religion department professors are
from various different religious contexts.
Some of them were-- from no context at all,
but have just taken extreme cultural interest
in the phenomenon of religion.
So they-- they're really helpful.
They're-- it's just really small department,
so you really get individualized attention.
In terms of Tucker and like Alternative Spring Break trip
programs that are more like extra curricular religious
and spiritual activities, I think it's just been phenomenal.
Like I said, it's really rare that we get
to like come together across the different religious lines
and then just talk about things and that's, I think,
taught me more than maybe I could learn from a textbook
because getting to really connect with people.
Like we've been talking about,
I think continuously throughout this conversation is the sense
of community you get--
>> Yeah.
>> -- and how much you get know other people.
And Dartmouth students are just generally really accomplished
and inspiring, and getting to work with them closely
in that context is really awesome.
>> Yeah.
>> And I know an addition to pure academic opportunities,
you also have a bunch of co-curricular programs.
>> Yeah.
>> So for instance, the gover-- department like government,
the government department will in fact bring in speakers
to do lectures, so will the religion departments,
and there's even-- the Tucker Foundation runs
weekly launches--
>> Yeah.
>> -- what matters to me and why--
>> Yeah.
>> -- which people just have--
kind of have an opportunity to talk, so an addition
to the academic side of the co-curricular side as well
as the extracurricular side.
>> Yeah, right.
>> Yeah, that's great.
Okay. I think this will be our final question
and this is a pretty general one,
why did you choose Dartmouth.
So one of you guys want to start on this one?
>> Do you want to go first?
>> Sure. I chose Dartmouth--
I'd never visited Dartmouth before I had gone in and it was
like one of those last minute decision
that I was going to make.
And I came up with my dad, drove all the way up here
from New Jersey, and I set foot on campus and was one of those
like really like quite winter days, but like--
it was like winter going on spring.
People wearing shorts and was like 30 degrees outside
and I was like this is so strange.
But once I've really got it-- got to talk to students,
I realized just like how much they really love this place.
I had visited other schools and I had asked
like everywhere I went, like, "What your favorite part
of Dart-- what your favorite part of this--
going to this school and what's your least favorite part?"
And they'd have like a pretty much balanced list.
But when I-- whenever I talk to a Dartmouth student,
it was like I love like A, B, C, D, all the way [laughter] , X,
Y, Z and I couldn't-- they couldn't think of anything
that they didn't like.
And so that really just sold me and I really wanted
to be a part of this community.
>> Yeah, and the same kind visiting the campus for me.
The first part was seeing how much people loved it but more
than that they were willing to act on it.
So I think what's great about this is this is a campus
where not only do students really love the place
but they're willing to get involved, whether it's
through religious and spiritual life or being on a sports team
or just being active in their first year floor.
What I really enjoyed about it was that Dartmouth, it's a place
where students and professors really
like to gather and do things.
And as a result, there's always going to be things going on,
people are always going to be--
and pushing different turfs so to speak.
But I've just really enjoyed the chance to-- in addition to it,
you really try new things, being able to explore and participate
in activities that I did in high school here,
but even on a higher level and, you know,
in almost more exciting environment.
>> Yeah. I guess I can speak to my experience too.
Like Alice, I hadn't visited Dartmouth before I applied.
But I came through the dimensions program,
and it was kind of an accident that happened actually.
When I came right, I'd already--
I'd gotten into what I thought was my number one school
and I already decided to go there.
I was like sent in to my deposit,
everything, I was ready to go.
And then my parents really encourage me just to come
up to Dartmouth for the weekend for dimensions.
And when I came, I just had an amazing experience.
I met some amazing 13s that had recently been admitted
and also some of amazing 12s and 11s that were on campus,
including the people that hosted me and just--
people that you just meet through the activities
that the Dartmouth has planned for the weekend.
So it was just an amazing, amazing experience
and I just really couldn't say no at that point.
>> Yeah.
>> So that's it for us today with this religious
and spiritual life chat.
Thank you so much for joining us and thank you Noah and Alice
for giving us your-- I guess, your opinions
on religious and spiritual life.
Our next chat will be in 10 minutes and it will be
on community service in Hanover and in the surrounding area.
Congratulations on your acceptance and we look forward
to seeing you at our revisit weekend dimensions
or this fall, thanks.