Minutes for October 19, 2004
I. Minutes from September were unanimously approved
II. Jeff summarized IFC events over the past month
- 40 people attended Kathryn McClymond
- over 120 people came to see Irham Dilmy! (yea for us!)
- the Interfaith Center is being used by Jeff for meditation and Tai Chi, which are both very successful
- Jeffrey encouraged us to continue supporting those who might wish to use the facility
- Tonight: Film on women in Afghanistan accompanied by the filmmaker
- Meet the Mormons will be in November; Dr. Alvin Smith has contacted Jeffrey
- Meet the Jews will also be in November, though the date is not set
- Diwali Festival will be November 11th due to a KCAB conflict on the 12th
- Megan and Jeffrey are excited to play
- Program Committee will get back to the IFC on Thanksgiving ceremony
- David F. stated the Art Contest has not been discussed, but will possibly be set on in the Spring
- Kathleen gave a review of the website saying it will include a number of things from our current minutes, past events, local events outside of Berry to a page about the IFC and its members
- Jeffrey asked if the IFC should be talking about more topics than just the programs (ie feelings around campus, what the IFC’s calling is, etc), along with asking whether or not the Programming Committee should become a part of the IFC meetings themselves.
- Wade stated that he was concerned about the IFC turning into a religious “Freak Show” in that we would be ostracized by the rest of the Berry community for seeming to bring in speakers from other religions besides Christianity and Judaism. However, he emphasized that he thinks the IFC is doing a wonderful job, he is just concerned about this for the future.
- David M. mentioned talking to some of his friends and learning that they had negative feelings towards the IFC
- Anne stated that we should be here to promote not so much diversity as dialogue.
- David M. and David F. stated their concern with students being confused about whether the Chaplain’s Office was a part of the IFC
- Jeffrey explained that it was his understanding that we were a free-standing organization outside of but with important links to the Chaplain’s office.
- Wade stated that the IFC, to him, was not about promoting religion, but instead about emphasizing dialogue
- David M. suggested a mass-email expressing what the IFC stands for and what it does
- Kathleen suggested a panel on the IFC, with IFC members there to answer questions
- Jeffrey articulated that it appeared that members present had different ideas of what the IFC is charged with doing and that it would be fruitful for the Council to (a) discuss it’s own charge and (b) more importantly, to carefully evaluate how to best fulfill the charge through programming.
- David M. argued that it is not necessary to change the mission, but to read into it and decide what it means for each of us.
- Kathleen stated that we should not have to accommodate to those who aren’t happy with the IFC; there will always be opponents to the cause
- Jeffrey decided that an email would be sent out to each member to evaluate what exactly the IFC is charged with doing
The discussion was tabled to next month’s meeting and will include the following questions:What is the IFC charged with?Should the programming committee be eliminated now that there is less hubbub than last year?The next meeting will be at 4:00 on Tues, November 16