Pagan Study Group recognized

Hayley Tsukayama Staff Writer

Students on campus participate in a variety of groups, from athletic teams to spiritual organizations. The Vassar Students Association (VSA) recognized the Pagan Study group on Sunday, Oct. 23.

The Pagan Study Group has been a presence on campus for the past six years, according to Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Sam Speers, but had fallen into relative inactivity until the start of this year.
“Study group is kind of an incorrect title,” remarked Jason Chen ’07, president of the group. “We don’t sit around and study together, but we do teach each other about different beliefs.”

At each meeting, a member of the group lectures the rest of the members on a particular aspect of a belief system.

“We talk about all kinds of things,” said Chen, including “Shintoism, Chinese medicine, Wicca, meditation, the academic study of magic…any topic that people want to teach us about.”

Presentations usually give a brief history of the belief system and also the ways in which it is currently practiced.

Chen said that he first heard of the group in 2001 during his freshman year. “By 2003 the group had pretty much disbanded,” said Chen.

Though Chen and Emma Simpson ’07 tried to get a few meetings together last year, they did not have much success.

This fall, Chen and Simpson worked through the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, and have a representative on the RSL Advisory Committee. The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, in addition to support and advice, has provided all of the funding for the group.

The recognition of the group does not change anything in terms of financial support. RSL will still be the main provider of funding for special events, as it does with other VSA groups.
Recognition as a VSA organization will allow the group much more freedom and independence as an organization. “Without recognition we can’t reserve rooms or tables,” said Simpson.

“[Recognition] also gives us the possibility to fundraise for ourselves,” said Simpson.
In addition, official recognition establishes a sense of permanence for the group, according to Chen.
“We feel [recognition] will show people that this group should be continued,” said Simpson. Members of the study group think that the group’s non-recognized status over the past six years may be partially due to the fact that past members have never applied for VSA recognition. The study group hopes that recognition will also help them to further promote their mission of encouraging the study of different belief systems.
“Take Satanism, or Wicca, for example,” said member Brad Scholss ’09. “I

f you believe in Satanism, it doesn’t mean you worship the Devil. We want people to realize that those who do these things [have different beliefs] and aren’t necessarily doing what the stereotypes say. Often, they’re doing just the opposite.”

Speers commented on the importance of communication and discussion among people with different beliefs.

“Part of the job of this office is to help groups and their members talk to each other and learn from each other,” said Speers in an e-mailed statement. “The learning gets more interesting when we recognize our differences.”

Chen noted that the group is not exclusive to Pagans.

“You don’t have to be Pagan to come to our meetings,” said Chen. “The same is true of all the religious groups on campus—you don’t have to practice to learn about it.”