Creating Your Own Community on Campus

by A. Lorelle Rieflin

When I first came to SUNY Albany as a freshman, I had automatically expected that there would be a Wiccan community awaiting me. I grew up in a small country town where for three years my Wiccan identity was misunderstood. It wasn’t feared-- it was simply he fact that no one knew what Wicca or Paganism was, and so was unable to form any misconceptions about the religion. I was happy that I faced no discrimination, but I also felt very alone and yearned for a religious community of like-minded people. Most of all, craved for a teacher.

I came to Albany with many misconceptions of urban places. I automatically thought that everyone in a city would be open-minded and that there were be tons of Wiccans and Pagans willing to share their experiences with me.

My main misconception about Albany was that there would be a Wiccan group on campus. However, when I arrived I quickly discovered that there was no such group. There wasn’t even any such person. My entire first year at UAlbany, I never met a Wiccan on campus.

I took my interest outside of college and joined with the Correllian Nativist Church in the city. It was there that I took a few classes and joined with them for New and Full moon rituals, as well as Sabbat celebrations, and seances. I finally had that sense of community I always longed for. However, Correllian’s charge money for their teachings and for ritual. I also had no car and taxi fees were really starting to add up. After about five months, I realized that continuing to attend the group rituals was not a financially smart thing to do. So I quit attending.

Once again I found myself without a community. I came away from my Correllian experience more knowledgeable of ritual design, philosophy, and how to be a leader and a teacher. Instead of putting any of my new teachings to work however, I was content to moan about my new loneliness and put my Wiccan practice to a halt. I claimed that it was because I had no way to practice Wicca. That was a lame excuse. The answer was staring me right in the face.

It happened during last summer, when I purchased Anthony Paige’s book: Rocking the Goddess: Campus Wicca for the Student Practitioner. It was then that I realized that if I wanted there to be a student Pagan group on campus, then I would have to start it myself.That is how Phases was born. Using Facebook, I did a search for all students at UAlbany who listed Wicca as their religion. I found five people. I started a group on Facebook called Phases and invited those five people to join.

On the Group’s homepage, I explain the name Phases: I have named this group Phases because that is what Pagan religion celebrates: The Phases of Life. Soon the group was joined by former acquaintances of mine who turned out be closet Pagans, and other people whom I had never met before. We set up our first meeting.

I arrived early for the meeting and waited anxiously for an hour. Soon I was willing to give the group up as a lost cause; convinced that no one was going to show. Then a group of about eight people came in and sat on the floor around me. Phases had arrived! That first night we sat and talked about our beliefs for two hours. We developed close friendships and shared many different ideas and misconceptions about what Wicca and Paganism means to us, and what it means to the rest of the world. We decided against asking the college to sponsor our group through the Student Association and plan to instead keep it a loose group of friends getting together for discussion once a week.

Phases has been in function now for about two weeks, so it is too early to say whether or not it will always be going strong. Yet I know that for as long that I am a student here at UAlbany, I will do my best to keep the group alive. Right now we are planning our Mabon celebration on Sunday. I’m excited to see what this group becomes. Never be afraid to take control. In the Wiccan world, loneliness can sometimes overcome. Many practitioners, especially those who are teenagers and young adults feel this especially.

They crave community but are also afraid to approach older, more “experienced” practitioners who would make excellent teachers. The truth is, never believe that no one is interested in hearing what you have to say because they almost certainly are interested. Also, I encourage you to reach out and find those of like minds. You will find that others are just as desperate and lonely as you are for companionship. I also very strongly encourage the formation of Student Groups on college campuses everywhere. More then likely your Student Association will be more then happy to sponsor you, and more people will look upon your group as a good thing as opposed to a bad thing. Not to mention you will earn important leadership skills from the experience!

I know now that the Goddess called me to found Phases. Is it your calling as well?


Bio

Lorelle is a Sophmore at UAlbany where she majors in English and Education. Ever since she was a child, she believed in the magick that was Wicca--though it was only three years ago that she was able to put a name to that magick. In her free time, she enjoys singing Opera and Show tunes, obsessing over Emilie Autumn and Tori Amos, and writing poetry and fiction about girls finding their way in the world. She hopes to someday be a mother of happy children and an English Teacher of troubled teenagers.

Comments

[Tim Lake]

congratulations on reconstituting the SUNY ALbany pagans.

There is a yahoogroup for them and they have a club on campus with a charter. It has not been active in several semesters.

You may also want to let your folks know about our regular weekly rituals in troy.
The Schenectady Pagan cluster meets on sunday nights at 7pm at the 408 fulton st. Gallery in troy. We would aso be willing to hold classes or meet and greets up on campus for/with you.

We are a federally recognized regional eclectic pagan congregational church using a wiccan mechanic since 1998

If interested, check
www.myspace.com/
schenectadypagancluster

Tim Lake
Pastor--schenectady pagan cluster

[Ashley Rieflin]

Yes I knew about the UAlbany Pagans. They were before my time however, and no one on campus seems to remember them. I figured that something a little less official might last longer, for the first year at least.

Your weekly rituals in Troy sound very interesting. I would love to attend. I really miss practicing rituals with a group of people who know what they're doing (I'm the only person in Phases who has any experience). However, transportation is a very large problem for me and for everyone else in the group.

Thank you for your comment!

[Rev. Davron Michaels]

Congratulations on getting a group started at UAlbany, Ashley!

Your article has gotten us seriously thinking about the financial needs of college students and has inspired us to implement a new policy to address this.

Effective immediately, Trinity Temple (http://www.trinitytemple.net/index_tt.html ) will be offering a Student Discount and Waiver program.

Full-time college students with valid student ID will now be granted free admission to our regular Esbat services and will receive a discount on other select events and activities.

We have also decided to offer a student discount for the Albany Witches Ball on October 27th (http://www.albanymagick.com/witchesball.html). Special student price of just $10 will include admission to the costume ball, Samhain Ritual, Séance, and open bar (for those over 21) from 6:00 p.m. until Midnight!

Thanks for helping to open our eyes to this issue, Ashley. We hope that the new Student Discount and Waiver program helps you and that you can come visit us again soon! Please feel free to let members of your group know about the new student discount and invite them to visit us any time as well!

If we can ever be of assistance or offer any support to your new group, please do not hesitate to let us know. We love to assist students and, as you know, I have a special fondness for UAlbany as a former student there myself!

Brightest Blessings,

Davron

[Rev. Davron Michaels]

Congratulations on getting a group started at UAlbany, Ashley!

Your article has gotten us seriously thinking about the financial needs of college students and has inspired us to implement a new policy to address this.

Effective immediately, Trinity Temple (http://www.trinitytemple.net/index_tt.html ) will be offering a Student Discount and Waiver program.

Full-time college students with valid student ID will now be granted free admission to our regular Esbat services and will receive a discount on other select events and activities.

We have also decided to offer a student discount for the Albany Witches Ball on October 27th (http://www.albanymagick.com/witchesball.html). Special student price of just $10 will include admission to the costume ball, Samhain Ritual, Séance, and open bar (for those over 21) from 6:00 p.m. until Midnight!

Thanks for helping to open our eyes to this issue, Ashley. We hope that the new Student Discount and Waiver program helps you and that you can come visit us again soon! Please feel free to let members of your group know about the new student discount and invite them to visit us any time as well!

If we can ever be of assistance or offer any support to your new group, please do not hesitate to let us know. We love to assist students and, as you know, I have a special fondness for UAlbany as a former student there myself!

Brightest Blessings,

Davron

[Emel Zorlu]

Well Done for founding Phases can you imagine going through the years at UAlbany if you hadn't all those years never knowing if there was any Wiccan Practitioners on campus (besides you). I have just started learning about Wicca A few months ago after finding a book in the school library. It sort of called me when i finished it i felt an urge to read more, i know what your saying about finding a teacher but i live in a small village in Scotland called Fairlie and its tiny! And when i told my friends and family about Wicca - My bestfriend got scared and worried when i started a BoS and when i did my first spell she insisted it wouldn't work i told her it did!!!

They are not being supportive - trying to look in my BoS getting every chance they get to catch me in the act!!!!

But When i told my mum about it and how its a way of dealing and helping our ways using the natural world around us, and how t.v shows like charmed aren't really accurate, she now thinks if i feel it is my calling - then i should do what feels right.

Thank You, this website has been such a help on connecting with other Wiccans and important information!**

Emel

[Destiny]

Great job!!! What you've done is really cool. It would be great if more college campuses did have these kind of groups.

Your idea for finding people on your campus was absoultely brilliant!!! I wonder if that same thing would work for me (I will be a college freshman this fall).

I hope that everything works out with your group Ashley!!!