For college students, spring break is typically a time to go to the beach, go on a cruise, or just relax at home. For 14 students, one professor, and
one faculty member, this past mid semester break was spent in Turkey, a country located in the Middle East next to Syria, Greece, Iraq, and Iran. Turkey spans both Europe and Asia and is a predominantly Muslim country.
The trip was sponsored by the Niagara Foundation, which has a mission to serve “societal peace, love, and friendship wisely and compassionately in support of human dignity and the common good by striving to bring forth the common values of humanity; values such as understanding, tolerance, respect, and compassion” from the website www.niagarafoundation.org.
Each person on the trip was given the opportunity to tour six different cities, attend dinner with two Turkish families, and experience different some of the different religious faiths of the country, such as Islam, Orthodox Christian, Judaism, and Sufism. One goal of the trip was to participate in interfaith dialogue where members were able discuss religion in an effort to gain a mutual understanding and respect for different faiths aside from their own.
The students who participated in the trip were Nema Saleem, senior; Cortney DeWalt, senior and Chimes photographer; Katie Wilson, senior; Cindy Carr, junior and Chimes editorial staff; Mia Huttleston, junior; Brooke Fox, junior; Jennifer Trumbo, junior; Andrew Floor, sophomore and Chimes reporter; Eric A. Smith, sophomore; Jordan Ayers, sophomore; Emily Michaelis, sophomore; Stephen Aldrich, sophomore; Grant Sharratt, first year; Jared Berry, first year. Dr. David Belcastro, professor of Religion and Philosophy and the Dean of the School of Humanities, and Jennifer Adams, Director of International Education, also participated in the trip. The Niagara Foundation representative on the trip was Serkan Aykan.
