Photo Albums

During the month of April, more than 60 percent of the freshman class participated in a field trip to either the Islamic Society of North America in Plainfield, IN, or to the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana on Indianapolis’ east side, as part of a new section of the Enduring Questions course on religious diversity in America. Students pictured here are at the mosque in Plainfield.

The goal fo Enduring Questions is to engage students with fundamental questions of humanity from multiple perspectives while fostering a sense of community.

Sister Habibe Ali leads a question and answer session.

Professor of Religion and History Robert Royalty (left) talks with Trashan Clemons '21 inside the mosque. Clemons said, 'It was a very enjoyable experience. I would recommend it just to get you outside of what you are used to. To get a new feel for things and a greater appreciation for others.'

Ali gave a presentation on Islam before students observed a service.

The quilt displayed here is the result of a childrens' art project.

The presentation proved to be a worthy learning experience.

The session included Wabash students and members of the surrounding community.

Professor Royalty and studnets engage with a woman at the mosque who's son has Wabash as one of his college choices...a nice coincidence.

Students talk following the service.

The visits came on Fridays or Saturdays in April.

One of the perks of visiting the Hindu Temple was the opportunity to have lunch prior to their tour. Of the lunch, Daniel Cuevas '21 said,'. The lunch was spicy. It's a cuisine I’ve never tried before, but I liked it.'

The Hindu Temple of Central Indiana is unique to the world because it features about 20 deities in that single location. Most Hindu temples do not.

Vasanthi Vasudevan led students on an engaging tour.

Jacob Kessler '21 said, 'I was looking forward to this (visit) when I first heard about it. The opportunity in itself is awesome.'

Brandon Bowell '21 said of his visit to the temple, 'For me, this trip was a life changing experience. I didn’t really know anything about Hinduism before our trip; I had a few misconceptions, but our guide cleared everything up for me. I felt like I learned so much about Hinduism on this trip and it made me gain a lot of respect for those people. Whenever we walked in I honestly felt really weird, kind of like I was intruding on their space. After we ate I felt much better about being there and everyone I interacted with was very kind to me. The tour was absolutely amazing and everything that our guide explained made so much sense to me. I think the biggest thing that I took away from this trip was how influential immersing yourself in a different culture or religion can be. This trip was probably the highlight of my Wabash career so far, and I can’t wait to take more immersion trips.'

Of the visits, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Anne Bost said, 'For me, it’s a chance to communicate with other people and to come together and really appreciate where they are coming from, and to have our students do that too. I appreciated the welcome.'

Michele Pittard, Associate Professor of Educational Studies, mentioned a meaningful quote from a book that EQ students recently read -- Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson -- relaying, 'You can’t understand most of the important things from a distance . . . You have to get close.' Accoring to her, 'The trip my class took to the Islamic Society of North America did just this – it got them close to people who follow a religion that may have seemed pretty far from their own experiences.'

A view of the Hindu sanctuary from the entrance hall.

Vasanthi Vasudevan takes questions before leading the students into the sanctuary.