Essay --

Designing Fear: A Brief History of Hate Crimes at Elmhurst College Elmhurst College is a small, private, four-year college. Though affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the college seeks to educate its students for life in the global society. As such, Elmhurst College welcomes students of many faiths. At the heart of the college’s spiritual life is the college chaplain’s office, which offers worship programs, community service opportunities, and spiritual guidance for students from all faith traditions. To ensure that the college can represent, embrace, and engage all of the religious communities on campus, the chaplain’s office employs nineteen co-chaplains and interfaith advisors. Leading the charge as the campus’s primary chaplain is the Rev. H. Scott Matheney. In the fall of 2008, Rev. H. Scott Matheney had been the chaplain of Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois for 11 years. A graduate of Whitworth College and Princeton Theological Seminary, Matheney arrived at the Elmhurst College with having already served for many years as the Presbyterian and United Church of Christ Chaplain at Columbia University and New York City. In his first decade at the school, Matheney had played a key role in the establishment of the NAACP Chapter on campus, spearheaded the annual Holocaust Education Project and Habitat for Humanity projects, instituted the Religious Lecture Series to explore different faith traditions, and provided significant outreach to all religious groups on campus—particularly the Muslim community. Matheney was proud of the progress made on key religious issues on campus, and felt that the campus was successfully fostering an environment that allowed individual members of the community to learn from each other... ..., curtains, and other items that make the space friendly and welcoming to all. â€Å"If there’s any good that has come from things like this—Safia, the things they see at the Interfaith Youth Core, even September 11, I think it’s two-fold,† Matheney says. â€Å"First, there’s been a dramatic movement of interfaith agendas and issues. And second, there’s a recognition that the Muslim community has to step into the public square and not be a quiet minority on our Christian campus—or in our Christian nation—anymore. They’ve had to become able to become a force that defends, defines, and differs themselves as they engage society. There has been a noticeable uptake in their engagement here since Safia left, even if things did slow down for a while. They, and we, are coming to terms with what it means to become a part of U.S. society. And we’re learning from each other every day.†