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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 20502
[Pagan]
Date Posted:
3/30/2009
6:05:10 pm EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,369
RSS: 18,215
Comments: 6
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NIU Student Pagan Association Holds First Meeting
Author: James Tschirhart Source: Northern Star (IL)
Title: NIU STUDENT PAGAN ASSOCIATION HOLDS FIRST MEETING
Talk of pentagrams, Pagan ethics and witchcraft was heard in DuSable Hall Thursday, as the NIU Student Pagan Association held its first group meeting.
The group’s founder and president, anthropology graduate student Paul Herrick, said despite Paganism being misunderstood and disfavored, NIU has been open-minded about the group.
Anastasia Blechschmidt, the spiritual adviser from Circle Sanctuary Church and minister in training, lectured on the meaning of the pentagram and the three guidelines of Wicca which illustrated the pacifistic nature of Paganism.
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Community Thoughts: There are 6 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Any Kinda National Assn. Yet? | Apr 2nd. at 12:35:44 pm EDT
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Ananta Androscoggin (Greene, Maine) - Email Me
As someone who has just gotten his acceptance letter, and knowing that this community college has in the past had an aggressive (clearly overstepping the bounds more than once -- even harassing and following students to their classroom doors trying to force a New testament on them) "campus crusade for christ" group, lead by a now-graduated knock-off of Blimpie the Fundamentalist Fanatic, I am still considering trying to discover if there is going to be interest in that campus starting *ANY* kind of Pagan Student Association. There are certainly enough Pagans in the surrounding countryside hereabouts.
To that end, is there yet in existence any kind of proto-National Association of PSAs group? Is there a website or particular forum where PSA organizers and leaders get together to share information and ideas? If not, perhaps it's about time our many Pagan and Neopagan communities gave some aid to this concept. I bet it would add up fast. Being an off-campus resource or sponsor for a PSA, or speaking on its behalf before the faculty or student senate/whatever as a member of the parent community the school is located within/near.
Having watched a few groups of different types go through self-destruction over the decades, one thing I can heartily recommend, is that Anarchy will not help to preserve the group. It won't even let a single project become completed successfully most of the time. That people who insist that "Leave it to me, I'll do it all" cannot be trusted with power, however petty, and usually prove to be totally incapable of cooperation of any kind.
Group by-laws MUST spell out *which* office has *what* authority within or on behalf of the group at the very least. The PSA must be kept non-denominational (that's "non-Trad-specific to some of us) and its press-kit should not be prepared to give only one trad's viewpoint on things (commonly witnessed as the "Wiccans represent everybody else's ways" falsehood) .
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| NIU's Pagan Group | Apr 1st. at 11:01:19 am EDT
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Truly (Dekalb, Illinois) - Email Me
As the president of the group in the article, I'd like to point out that the eight or so paragraph article in the student newspaper doesn't really cover us in depth. This organization is not related in any way to the previous pagan groups on campus at NIU. It is our effort to illustrate the depth and breadth of pagan spirituality to a community of students who have very mixed and varied understanding of our spiritual practices. To do this we have the aid of two pagan ministers from the area, one of which is on the religious advisory council to the university, as well as a pagan faculty member as the groups adviser.
If you feel you have a unique and insightful spiritual practice, we would be interested in hearing about it. Send me an email and we could see about having you come to speak to the group.
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| Good Luck | Mar 31st. at 5:33:38 pm EDT
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Silver Faery (Hays, Kansas) - Email Me
I live near a four year university and over the last oh 8 years I have seen Pagan groups start, fall apart, another get started and the cycle keep going. None have lasted more then a year, all have been ones that from what I hear only got stranger and stranger. I think if it is run right, there is possiblity. But many members are students that are curious at best and most leave the area after graduating...if they even make it that far!
Silver Faery
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| Feh. | Mar 31st. at 9:47:19 am EDT
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Finn (San Marcos, Texas) - Email Me
Wicca does not define paganism. I am not a pacifist. I don't give a rat's patootie about pentagrams. I dislike groups such as these because without fail they always cast all of paganism, which is so diverse it defies any attempt to speak for it, as some sort of variation of Wicca. I would rather not be represented at all than misrepresented by some well-intentioned person who clearly knows nothing about my faith or prefers to rewrite it.
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| Good Luck To Them! | Mar 31st. at 7:48:28 am EDT
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Heather Lynn Fairfield (Canton, Massachusetts) - Email Me
When I was at DePaul University in the early '90's, I co-founded a Pagan Circle called "Aspects" there. It took awhile, but eventually, we managed to get Aspects accepted as a legitimate Student Organization on campus (though it was amazing how many hoops we had to jump through in order to do that) . The group lasted for about 2 years before it folded (for the typical reasons many Pagan groups implode) , but I often wonder if anyone will revive it again at some point.
Either way, I met some of my closest friends through that group, and I consider it to have been well worth the effort, no matter how short-lived the result or how frustrating the process was. Good luck to these folks over at NIU. I hope you get as much out of the experience as I did!!!!
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| Deja Vu All Over Again | Mar 30th. at 6:22:29 pm EDT
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Sabaean (Metairie, Louisiana) - Email Me
This group has formed and disbanded on almost a seasonal basis. I attended one meeting in which the main topic was whether "Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" could be a valid Pagan philosophy. Then after the meetings, they meet again at the Junction Resturant wearing capes, while brandishing wands like they just left a Harry Potter convention.
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