Northwestern Interfaith Living and Learning Residence Hall will move from its current home in the Foster-Walker Complex to 1835 Hinman starting next fall, according to officials in the Chaplain’s Office, which oversees the residence hall.
Residents of Interfaith Hall aim to understand and appreciate the different religions of their classmates.
The hall currently hosts 20 students of varying religious beliefs in single rooms and one triple on the first floor of the sixth house 1835 Hinman Foster-Walker. Next year, 50 students will live in the hall in singles and doubles.
The hall currently houses both male and female students. However, the new location will also have one section available solely for female students, Associate Chaplain Wendy Mathewson said.
“A hall that can be women only is important for religious women,” Mathewson said. “It’s a space where religious women can literally wear their hair down.”
Still, residents do not have to be religious to live in the hall, Mathewson said. The purpose of the hall is to create an environment in which students of different backgrounds and religions can learn from each other.
The hall offers both religious and non-religious activities, from firesides on religious practices to Munchies.
“The biggest misconception is you have to be religious to live in it,” said Mirza Drino, vice president of Interfaith Hall. “We don’t ask people to be religious or of a certain faith, but to be willing to talk about religious diversity and religious tolerance and be open to living with people of other faiths.”
Josh Swenson, former president of Interfaith Hall, said he applied to live there because he has always been interested in learning about other religions, and his time in Interfaith is partially responsible for his decision to major in religious studies.
“It was really cool getting to know students practicing different faith traditions and learning about those traditions,” the SESP junior said. “I almost learned more from friends than the classroom setting.”
Interfaith students and chaplains have been trying to obtain a separate living facility, where students could have their own library and prayer room, for the last few years, Swenson said.
Students can apply to live in Interfaith, but this past year most residents were assigned to live there without applying. Interfaith Hall is the only area of Foster-Walker in which freshmen were placed, Drino said.
The Weinberg freshman was one of the students randomly assigned, and he said he was “wary” about having to talk about religion, but grew to enjoy it.
Because only a portion of the 20 residents participate in activities or apply to live there, engaging 50 residents in Interfaith activities will be a challenge, Swenson said.
Drino said Interfaith may not attract many people because some students believe discussing religion is taboo.
“We’re trying to change that,” he said. “You don’t have to talk about your religion. You just learn from each other.”
