March 21, 1995
"Free soft drink if you write down why you're not a Christian."
This sign hung on a table for the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in Malcolm X Plaza for four days, eliciting more than 200 responses in an effort to get a sense of the campus' attitudes toward Christianity, and to get people to think about it more, according to Glenn Griffin, co-president of the SF State chapter.
The responses varied from the simple and straightforward: "Because I'm Jewish (Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, etc.)" to in-depth, double-sided, miniature essays on the three by five card provided.
A cumulative annual survey done by the Cooperative Institute Research Program based at UC Los Angeles and published in the American Freshman, reported that college freshmen have less concern with developing a meaningful philosophy of life compared with freshmen 20 years ago due to an increase in financial problems and living in a complicated society.
Members of the SF State chapter of the Fellowship see the importance of establishing a way to alleviate the apathy that has settled on college students through discussion about fulfillment of life and by reaping the benefits of comfort and healing that come from the Christian faith, said Bruce Hansen, director of the SF State chapter.
"Our experience here is that students at (SF) State are pretty apathetic and don't react to much," Hansen said.
This was first done at UC Berkeley by the same organization a few years ago, and it was successful in stimulating conversation and giving the organization a more visible presence on campus, according to Glenn Griffin, co-president of the Fellowship at SF State.
Hansen tallied the responses of the cards collected the first week and said he was surprised by the some of the top reasons.
"We were expecting to get people's negative opinions about the Church and its history within the Western Hemisphere, such as crusades and corruption," Hansen said. He also said he was surprised that there were not more responses that were negative toward Jesus Christ.
Of the first 89 responses from the first two days, 39 said they were not Christian because they belong to another religion, 22 said they disliked organized religion, and the next biggest group had various conflicts with religion or Christianity: "Religion, including Christianity, is dogmatic, meaning it is a rote system of belief, not open to individual interpretation," one card said.
Some students took this as an opportunity to vent their frustrations and beliefs: "Christianity is a male-dominated religion. I cannot relate with this man who wants to have control over me and my body," while others used it as an outlet to confess their deepest sins: "Because I've had sexual relations with an animal when I was drunk and in high school."
If nothing else, it sampled the wit and humor of SF State students: "I was a practicing Catholic, then I got it right and didn't have to go to practice anymore," and "Eucharist sticks to the top of my mouth."
Members of the group also spoke in Malcolm X Plaza last Friday and told why the group was important to them.
Griffin and Hansen agree that the purpose of the cards and the rally is to get people thinking, not only about Christianity, but about what matters in life and what they are looking for.
One of the speakers, Austin Busch, a comparative literature major, has been with the fellowship for two years. He said he became a Christian in high school at 16, but said that he has always followed Jesus and the Christian beliefs.
"Our main goal is to open up a dialogue to people who don't have faith. As Christians it is our duty to tell the gospel," Busch said.
Growing up in a Muslim family, Negar Eghtessadi, a creative writing senior, who has been with the fellowship for four years, explained why she adopted the Christian faith. "When I learned about what Jesus had done for us it all made sense to me," she said.
The Fellowship is a 54 year old non-profit national organization which serves as a "surrogate Church" for students away from home, providing Bible studies, retreats and social events, Griffin said. SF State has approximately 60 active members, and there are 28,000 members nationwide in more than 600 chapters.
The Fellowship meets a few times during the week, with its largest Bible study meeting on Fridays. For more information, their office is located in the Student Center's basement room B-139.
The Chinese Campus Evangelical Fellowship also set up a table for Friday's rally and offered Christian literature in Cantonese and Mandarin. The Chinese fellowship has 30-40 members, according to its director, Linda Pang. The group meets on Fridays in the Student Center basement from 4:30 p.m. until 6:15 p.m.