Following the Path

Friday, February 19, 1999

Following the Path

College helps students both grow spiritually and renew their
faith

By Kaitie Pappert

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

From the Crusades to the Christian Coalition, the fight for
religion has been intense and centuries-long. Religion’s roles have
been manifold: a study, a foundation for cultures, and for some, an
integral part of daily life.

For Floria Hwang, her relationship with religion falls into the
last category.

Some students come to college and turn away from religion.
Others delve even further into their faith and take advantage of
one of the 36 religious groups registered with the Center for
Student Programming.

In the following interview, Hwang, who is an organizer for the
off-campus section of Intervarsity Bruin Christian Fellowship,
gives some insight as to why students embrace or abandon religion,
and why she’s following her current path.

So what exactly does Intervarsity Bruin Christian Fellowship
do?

Mainly we just have meetings. We want to have a community for
Christians and just a safe place for them to learn about Jesus.

How did you get involved?

At my freshman orientation they had booths; I signed up, and
they called me.

How many people are involved?

In the entire Intervarsity, maybe a couple hundred. In the
off-campus section it’s a lot smaller.

What are some of the events?

There’s a big event called the Edge and that’s put on twice a
quarter; it’s mainly for non-Christians. It’s a safe environment
for non-Christians to learn about spirituality.

Why did you choose this path, and how did you get involved in
your religion?

I’ve pretty much always been Christian. I grew up in a Christian
family. Coming to college, I feel like I just learn so much more,
living away from home.

Learning more about Jesus just really made me fall more in love
with Him. Basically, the more I learned about Jesus, the more I
wanted to have a relationship with him.

Do you have a hard time understanding people who don’t share
your feelings?

I don’t think so. It’s hard to put your faith in something that
you can’t see. It’s hard when you go through hard times and there’s
so many questions and barriers you have to get past. It’s not an
easy thing.

Do you ever have a hard time with your faith? Do you ever
struggle with your religion?

When I go through hard times, it’s really easy to question
things. But I think that mainly hope gets me through. Also going
through hard times make me stand back and re-evaluate my faith, and
I come out of it with a stronger faith.

It seems that when young people come to college, they go one of
two ways. They either turn away from religion or they turn more
toward it. Why do you think that is? What role do you think college
plays in young people’s lives?

College is so different from anything else. Mainly, I think you
just learn so much more. I think a lot of times people think that
religion is really binding, and that it’ll just prevent them from
having fun. I think Intervarsity is a very fun group, and that’s
part of the reason I joined. We’re not just about boring
Christians.

How about other, non-Christian religions? Do you think that it’s
good to learn about others?

It’s really useful to learn about other religions and see what
else is out there and see, at least for me, what makes Christianity
different and why I am following this instead of something
else.

Do you think if you were raised in a different household, one in
which Christianity was not instilled in you, you would have still
turned to this?

That’s really hard to say. It totally depends on the people in
my life. Definitely, family background is a big influence. I think
that if I had met some people in Intervarsity and gone to some of
their events, I still would be here.

JAMIE SCANLON-JACOBS/Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Floria Hwang, of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, speaks
about her religion.

Hwang is a second-year physiological science student and an
organizer for the off-campus section of Intervarsity Bruin
Christian Fellowship.

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