LIKE A PRAYER

Yes, there were students praying at the Rock this week, but they weren’t trying to convert prospies. Their evangelism wasn’t meant to be “creepy,” as one student put it. Instead, they were offering the laziest way to make all your wishes come true.

The InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, an interdenominational organization, set up a prayer station and a confessional tent as part of a weeklong initiative to start discussion about various issues. Only they were the ones doing all the work: If you told them what you wanted, they would ask God for you – belief not required. “We’re offering prayer,” says Communication junior Marcus Mason, who goes by the title “President of House on The Rock, Black Campus Ministry Chapter” within the organization. “If people wanted to pray, they could.”

The events are intended to somewhat make up for the Church’s wrongdoings for the past thousand years or so and maybe even make some progress. “We’ve messed up,” Mason says. “We’ve gotten so good at telling other people they’ve messed up, we wanted to acknowledge that we messed up.”

In the confessional, they weren’t even asking for your sins (there wasn’t even a priest), they were confessing to anyone who would listen-especially “people who might not identify as Christians,” Mason says. Inside and outside the tent, members of the organization were apologizing for things like the ways they have “elevated ourselves as superior people,” and their attitudes towards homosexuals.

But the real fun was across the plaza at the prayer booth. You could ask God for anything (and people did), either by writing your requests on paper and posting them on a bulletin board, or allowing the InterVarsity students to put their hands together and pray for you right then and there. “They’re not trying to convert people or make them pray in a Christian way,” Mason says.

They group promised they weren’t even judging selfish wishes, praying for those coveting a lime green bike and for “intelligent beautiful women to actually go after guys that matter.” Lord God, we hope that’s all it takes.

DAWSON FREAKS?

Now, for something a little closer to home. Daily Forum Editor Talia Alberts was on a plane back from Los Angeles Monday morning when she saw James Van Der Beek (OMG! DAWSON!). And then he followed her to campus. Well, not really, but he has scored a part in a new film called Formosa Betrayed, which is shooting in front of Deering Library. When we walked by, we didn’t see the blonde wonder boy, just a bunch of Asian mock protestors and lots of crew members diverting us through Deering Field to get by.

The film’s Web site says the movie is about a “small-town detective assigned to investigate the murder of a respected professor.” It involves international secrets that have been “thriving within college campuses across America for decades.” The investigation leads all the way to Taiwan and on a “collision course against the U.S. State Department, the Chinese Mafia and the Nationalist Chinese Government.” And apparently, all the way to Northwestern’s campus. Boring. But if anyone knows what these international secrets lurking on our campus are, be sure to send us an e-mail.

FRAT QUEENS

Tomorrow night, it will be raining men in the Jones Great Room – Greek men, that is, donning swimsuits and formal wear to compete for the title of Kappa Alpha Theta’s “Mr. CASAnova.” The benefit features seven guys from different fraternities. “We made announcements at each house and let the guys decide amongst themselves,” says event co-coordinator and Weinberg sophomore Nisha Sant. “Either 10 girls are going to fall in love with me or no one will talk to me again,” says Andrew Gothelf, a Medill sophomore who’s competing. He stumbled into the running at SigEp chapter. “There were 20 guys pointing at me, yelling my name,” Gothelf says. “I thought it was funny … plus I didn’t really have a choice.” However, he’s entering the contest as an independent due to probationary rules of his fraternity.

For the formal wear competition, Gothelf is borrowing “ridiculous” plaid attire. As for the other two categories? “Let’s keep it a surprise,” he says. Hopefully, Speedos won’t be deemed T.N.T.