At this year’s Registered Student Organization (RSO) fair on August 29, the Pagan Student Association (PSA) was not in attendance. Their absence is due to the low number of executive board members.
Former PSA president Stormy Stein ‘25 said, “I’m disappointed, but I cannot fault the other former executive board members. I had to step down from being president last spring for a medical leave, and I’m sure they had their reasons for not re-enrolling PSA as an RSO.” Members decided that with no one on the executive board to maintain the RSO status, it would be better to shelve the Pagan Student Association until the Spring semester.
With the PSA no longer at IWU and no representation found at Illinois State University, the pagans in the community are left with no space to come together. Summer ‘24 Illinois Wesleyan graduate Kai Miller expresses how unfortunate it is that other religious groups were thriving, yet the space for pagans had disappeared. Stein and current ISU student, Rue Hyatt, emphasized their frustrations and disappointment at feeling unrepresented in the community. Stein said she’d miss sharing that part of her identity.
“I believe the lack of a PSA on campus could have negative impacts on the campus community as a whole and for pagan students,” Miller said. “Diversity and unique ways of thinking and celebrating holidays should always be welcome on campus and in the multi-faith center. The disappearance of a pagan association can feel isolating and disheartening for a pagan student looking to fit in among peers.”
The Pagan religion is about full and complete acceptance, no matter your age, gender, or religion. Pagan ideology can be incorporated into every other religion, including Christianity, Catholicism, and Judaism. Paganism at its core is about respecting nature and living in harmony with it because, without nature, we cannot survive.
Before the Pagan Student Association became active, they felt isolated, particularly around Pagan holidays during the Christmas season. They didn’t know anyone else who celebrated the way they did.
Select pagan groups require training and an initiation ceremony, such as Chicago’s Fellowship of the Phoenix. Other pagan groups will require you pay for membership after paying for training. “I personally dislike using finances to gatekeep people out of any faith’s space,” Stein said. “Unless it can be transparently explained why money is necessary, I feel like it is far too easy to be used inappropriately.”
Kai Miller also disagreed with this process, “This would make it even harder for lone pagans or newcomers to find and be accepted into a safe space and community. Why is interviewing and training not required of other religious groups?”
Without IWU’s PSA, the magick this semester will certainly be lost. But where can student Pagans in the Bloomington-Normal area go to celebrate or engage in fellowship without training or interviews?
“There are other campus organizations for many other religious or spiritual faiths,” Hyatt concluded. ”Why can’t there be one for us?”
So, why can’t there? Why can’t returning students, transfers, freshmen, and even ISU students contribute to the Pagan community by helping IWU get the PSA back on its feet? Stormy Stein is willing to help but she can’t do it on her own. Anyone interested in helping the PSA get back up and running can join the Discord group chat after connecting their IWU email to the app, or email Stein at estein1@iwu.edu.