Enduring Questions Students April 2018 Islamic and Hindu Field Trips
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.
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.'
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.'