The Reasons for the Season

By Kyle Hobstetter on December 12, 2017

With finals sneaking up on students, it’s not a surprise that many on campus haven’t exactly found the holiday spirit yet.

But on Friday, December 9, the University Union transformed into a Winter Wonderland as the campus hosted its annual TU Holiday event, a campus-wide celebration of all the major holidays happening during the final month of the calendar year.

And while there were fun activities, games and hot chocolate, many students had a chance to hear from their fellow classmates about different holiday traditions and religions celebrated by the campus community.

One of those student speakers was Jodi Teitelman ’20, a West Hartford, Connecticut native and Family Studies major. She’s volunteered with the TU Holiday event since her freshman year, and was happy to speak about celebrating Hanukkah and her Jewish faith in general.

“TU Holiday is one my favorite events throughout the year and it’s just really fun to celebrate with your friends and people you don’t know,” Teitelman said. “It also allows me to get a chance to share my faith and get to bring more Hanukkah themed games, activities and decorations to the event.”

In fact, it was Teitelman’s Jewish faith that brought her six hours away from home to Towson University’s campus. When she took her campus visit, it was her discussion with the staff at Towson University Hillel — TU’s branch of the national Jewish campus organization — that helped push her toward TU.  

“Towson University, and the Baltimore area in general, has such a thriving Jewish community,” Teitelman said. “The assistant director of Hillel actually convinced me to come to Towson. He’s the reason I’m here. Being Jewish is something I love. According to my friends the three things you’ll know about me is I’m Jewish; I’m from Connecticut and I go to Towson.” 

Along with Hillel, Towson University offers over a dozen campus ministries and religious student groups on campus. This includes Campus Crusade for Christ, The Table (Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministry), The Newman Center (Catholic Ministry), The Muslim Student Association and many more groups and organizations representing different faiths and religions. 

Most of these organizations and programs fall under the Center for Student Diversity, who strive to provide a welcoming environment for all religious faiths and beliefs. They also work to provide a space and culture for students to explore their spirituality, or even their lack-there-of.

“We recognize that culture and diversity is more than just race/ethnicity and religion is an important part of many students’ intersectional identities,” said Joel Bolling, senior director of student development and diversity in the Center for Student Diversity. “We work to support students across different faiths by working with a variety of faith-based organizations, like the Muslim Student Association, Hillel, Infinitive Praise Ministries, help host religious programs like Jummah prayer and Buddhist monks creating a mandala, and invite speakers to address topics on violence towards the Sikh community, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism.

“We strive to help students from all faiths to not only feel welcomed on this campus, but to be able to explore and develop their spirituality or atheist beliefs.”

Reverend Laura Sinche has been serving on Towson University campus since 2009, and is currently the minister for The Table — the campus’ Lutheran-Episcopal campus ministry.

She also serves as the president of TU’s Religious Staff Coordinating Council, so she works with many of the different clergy on campus. With so many clergy and faith-based groups on campus, she’s happy that there is someone for students to relate to on campus, no matter what their faith.

“I deeply respect and I’m grateful for my fellow clergy members who are here,” Sinche said. “When I have a student, who is wondering about something, I can say ‘Why don’t you ask the Muslim Chaplain?’ If I have a student who wants to learn more about Judaism or Islam, we can immediately go to my fellow campus clergy. If I somehow encounter a student in crisis, I ask them if they come from a certain tradition for faith, and if it would be helpful to talk to someone of that faith.”

Campus ministries have been finding ways to work together to host events and raise awareness for different causes. The Table partners with the Newman Center to run the Towson University Food Share pantry. The Muslim Student Association and the Newman Center team up for events, including recently hosting an event with the Virgin Mary. The Table and the Hillel will also host an interfaith Shabbat in the spring along with programs about food justice. 

For Sinche, these programs are important to grow the campus community for all involved. She also points to events like TU Holiday as an important way to bring together students so they can understand their fellow classmates and understand their traditions.

“I think it’s good to understand that it’s not just one way of faith out there,” Sinche said. “And in the end, we windup saying ‘Oh wait, you do those things too?’ There are always some connections there, and discussing them allows us to demystify them and let us understand why are brothers and sisters do these things during the holidays. Events like these let us see the similarities between us.”

And for Teitelman, who said she’s already excited for next year’s TU Holiday, the most important thing about the event is getting close to those around her in the TU Community — no matter what they believe. 

“To be given the opportunity, one of the many opportunities, to share our faiths, our customs and our traditions with each other is really great,” Teitelman said. “It’s important to have that dialogue and it’s important to have those conversations with everyone. The more you know about their faith, the more you can understand them, and the more you can relate to them.”