Hillel

Hillel is an international Jewish campus organization with chapters throughout many American universities. Hillel at NC State seeks to provide an avenue for students to engage with one another through social activities as well as study the Jewish faith.

“Hillel offers NC State students a place to keep exploring our Jewish identity while away at college,” said Hilary Gugig, vice president of administration within Hillel and a senior studying economics.

The group organizes Shabbat dinner and services every other Friday night, usually in the Talley Student Union or the Honors Village Commons. They also participate in interfaith events with other religious groups on campus, typically involving a discussion. 

According to its website, the mission of North Carolina Hillel is to enrich the lives of North Carolina’s Jewish undergraduate and graduate students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.

“Regardless of your background or denomination, we try to provide a place for students to come together and be social and have fun while also learning about what connects us to God,” Gugig said. 

Catholic Campus Ministry

More than 150 students are actively involved with NC State’s Catholic Campus Ministry, which has risen to prominence over the last four years.

 “The primary goal of our ministry is to create disciples, first and foremost,” said John Morton, public relations coordinator for the Catholic Campus Ministry and a sophomore studying communication. “I think my faith is certainly one of those things that just gets me up and going every day.”

Morton said the organization holds its largest weekly Mass Sundays at 10 a.m. in the Witherspoon Campus Cinema, although several Mass services are held throughout the week. Morton also recommended that interested students attend small groups, which he described as Bible study.

 “They’re led by one of our student leaders and each week we’ll have a particular verse of the Bible that fits the particular theme we’re going to discuss,” Morton said. “We go through and we discuss it in context of our own lives and really analyze how we can leave small group that evening and really just apply it to our everyday lives.”

Cru

Cru is a worldwide, interdenominational Christian ministry. Nearly 1,000 students from NC State, Meredith College and Wake Technical Community College meet at various churches in Raleigh on Thursdays at 8 p.m.

Cru operates on a “Win. Build. Send.” model to connect students to God. 

“We win them to Christ by sharing our faith, build them up through discipleship and small group Bible studies and then send them out to their communities and to the world through programs such as summer missions projects and spring break trips,” said Carson Petrea, a music organizer and drum player for Cru and a sophomore studying business administration. 

Mark Hove, a Cru worship leader and a sophomore studying industrial design, said Cru provides students an outlet to come to know Christ.

“For many first-year students coming from a Christian background, it can be difficult to find peers with similar beliefs,” Hove said. “Cru provides a community that is caring and passionate about connecting others to Christ.” 

Hindu Students Association 

The Hindu Students Association seeks to provide a group for students to engage with each other and study Hinduism, while also teaching others ideas and events within the religion.

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. The philosophies of Hinduism are detailed in multiple texts, the main ones being the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita. 

“Rather than seeing God as a separate entity, Hindus believe that God [known as Brahma in the Vedas] is an entity that comprises the very fabric of all existence and thus respect for all things — living and nonliving — is a very important part of Hinduism,” said Jaisal Amin, secretary of the Hindu Students Association and a junior studying genetics and global relations. 

Hinduism emphasizes oneness with all beings. On campus, HSA invites all students, regardless of religious background to participate in events and meetings.

“HSA’s goals are to foster discussions about Hinduism and how we can apply the teachings of our religion to our daily lives,” Amin said. “We also aim to educate a wider audience about religious events and festivals.”

Muslim Student Association

The Muslim Student Association strives to build unity through diversity and education. The group aims to provide programs for people of all backgrounds, levels of knowledge and levels of piety to learn and meet with other Muslims on and off campus.

“I think it’s a very important organization, especially since Islam has some very negative stereotypes and with the past couple of years and the propaganda going on in the media,” said Somia Youssef, education chair of the MSA and a junior studying political science. “We have such a great role into just being active on campus, standing up for who we are and providing that kind of safe haven for Muslim students for support, who might need places to pray, people who want to increase their knowledge of Islam and even non-Muslim students as well.”

After the tragic Chapel Hill shootings that took place in February, Youssef said that not only is the MSA’s job to educate the community but to also to keep its students safe.

“We’ve been extra careful of our community and of Muslim students that may be in the same situations,” Youssef said. “We’re taking great care in reminding students to take care of themselves and be always aware of their surroundings.”

Youssef explained that even in the wake of big issues such as Islamophobia and xenophobia, the key to combating ignorance is education.

“Our duty is to educate, and I’ll never get tired of doing,” Youssef said. “What keeps me going always is that if one person benefits then that means the world to me.”

Buddhist Philosophies Club

The Buddhist Philosophies Club has 34 active members on campus who hold semiweekly meditation sessions Sunday afternoons as well as informal discussion sessions on Wednesdays centered around creating a socially conscious and non-dogmatic environment. They consider themselves a “Sangha,” which means “harmonious community” and is one of the “Three Jewels” of Buddhism, the others being “Dharma,” or “the teachings” and the Buddha. 

Buddhists don’t believe in a supernatural creator, however, Nick Casale, a senior studying electrical engineering and former leader of the club, said he doesn’t see Buddhism as any different from any other religion in terms of its core concepts.

“Buddhism may operate on a different vocabulary, but the fundamental concepts are common to every religion,” Casale said. “A strong tenet of Buddhist teaching is that there are many ways up ‘the mountain.’ So all the lines of every path people take converge on one point.” 

The club’s members have a history of being active on social issues such as gender equality and stopping the stigma around mental health issues. Once a year, the group holds a public discussion session in the Brickyard where they draw the “mandala” which is an ancient symbol that represents the self and the universe. 

Casale said, “Buddhism is attractive to me because the daily practice of it — mindfulness — encourages equanimity and compassion for the world around me.” 

Secular Student Alliance

The Secular Student Alliance is an organization of students who are nonreligious (agnostics, secular humanists, freethinkers, etc.), religious allies, atheists and those who are religiously undecided. It is important to clarify that not all members of SSA are atheists, said Jonathan Otten, president of the SSA and a junior studying chemical engineering who identifies as an atheist.  

“Atheism, quite simply, is the lack of belief in gods or the supernatural,” Otten said. “Atheism is not a religion or a rigid set of beliefs, so many nonreligious people turn to life stances such as Humanism, to science and philosophy, to empathy, to education and to their lived experiences to answer questions of meaning or morality.”

Otten said he values freethinking communities and their connected methods, stances and principles.

“Because I don’t rely on supernatural intervention, I think it falls to all of us to create a better world now,” Otten said.

The goal of the SSA is to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for its members and for other nonreligious people on campus. Otten said the organization aims to end religious privilege and stigma against the nonreligious and to support causes that the SSA finds important.

“We want to be a place for secular-minded individuals to come together, form a community, discuss new ideas and to go out and improve our community,” Otten said. “I’m glad to be a part of secular communities that are fighting for racial justice, reproductive justice and women’s rights, queer liberation, economic justice, protection for the environment, free expression and for other issues.”

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