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Religious LifeAt Hobart and William Smith, we believe that the life of the spirit and the life of the mind need notbe separate or mutually exclusive, but in fact may be profoundly interrelated and rewarding. TheOffice of Religious Life supports and encourages the practice and exploration of traditions throughservices, programming and spiritual support that provide hospitality and advocacy for students of allreligions and cultures.Religious Life staff members Chaplain Lesley Adams, Director of the Abbe Center for Jewish LifeLorinda Weinstock and Buddhist Adviser The Venerable Tenzin Yignyen organize a variety of eventsdesigned to foster a vibrant and active spiritual community. They plan religious events during thesemester, like a Ramadan breakfast and a celebration of holiday carols, as well as a slate of regularcampus events.Regular non-denominational events, including the weekly Pasta Night dinner and Campus PeerMinistry, provide opportunities to gather for conversation and fellowship, while denominationalevents, like Buddhist Meditation, Bible Study and Kosher Shabbat Dinners, allow students tocelebrate their own faiths or explore new ones.St. John’s Chapel, the on-campus center of religious life, hosts regular services for Catholics,Episcopalians and Quakers. The local community is also home to a variety of religious services,including Baha’i, Baptist, Jewish, Unitarian, Methodist and Presbyterian.Jewish Life at HWS is especially vibrant and is based in the Abbe Center for Jewish Life, a studentresidence hall located across the street from Temple Beth-El. The home’s spacious dining room,living room, conference room and separate kosher-style and true kosher kitchens make it an idealspace for Shabbat and other traditional gatherings.If you’d like more information about specific religious events, contact Chaplain Lesley Adams atladams@hws.edu or (315) 781-3671 or Hillel Director Lorinda Weinstock at lweinstock@hws.eduor (315) 781-3385. A full listing of local congregations and services is available at www.hws.edu/studentlife/religious_worship.aspx.There are morethan 80 studentgroups to choosefrom that addressa broad range ofinterests, includingpolitics, performingand studio arts,community service,activism, mediaand sports.Extracurricular ActivitiesExtracurricular activities and events play a large role in a well-rounded liberal arts education.Between club activities, nationally-renowned speakers, concerts and volunteer opportunities, thereare many ways for HWS students to explore their interests, have fun and make a difference.There are more than 80 student groups that address a broad range of interests, including politics,performing and studio arts, community service, activism, media and sports. Club activities varysomewhat from year to year in response to student interests, and students are encouraged to starttheir own club, with help from the Office of Student Activities, if a club that covers their interestsdoesn’t exist.Hobart and William Smith also sponsor a variety of opportunities for students to interact withnational and international figures, engaging the leading thinkers of the day in interesting andthought-provoking conversations about everything from politics and world events to careeropportunities. Recent visitors to campus have included Nobel Peace Prize Recipient WangariMaathai, Senator Mushahid Hussain of Pakistan and current U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.Campus is also host to a wide range of cultural activities and events designed to help studentsbecome citizens of the world. Guest artists, like the Rochester Philharmonic and rock band StateRadio, present concerts on campus and in Geneva each year. Recent on-campus art exhibitionsinclude works by photographers, painters and multimedia artists from around the globe. Dancetroupes, like Axis Dance, Jody Sperling’s Time Lapse Dance Company and other companies,frequently perform. And the active theatre program exposes students to a variety of student-runand faculty-directed productions, like The Laramie Project and Paradise Hotel.16 HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES