On Thursday, Nov. 14, more than 150 Gustavus students participated in the first Interfaith Day of Fasting held on the campus.

The event was created by Mosaic, a student organization seeking to generate discussion about the role of religion in the modern world across a variety of faiths. Multiple campus groups also lent their support and efforts in co-sponsoring the event.

Participants fasted from sunrise to sunset, gathering in Alumni Hall to break the fast together over a shared meal in the evening. Those involved could choose from one of three levels of participation; simply abstaining from food, going without food and water, or fasting from food, water, and technology. Coordinators of the event emphasized the importance of fasting reasonably and responding to personal needs during the fast.

At the event, a student panel spoke about fasting in a variety of faith traditions, creating an atmosphere of interfaith dialogue. As part of the event, students were also able to donate up to 30 dollars from their cafeteria meal plans, with 40 percent of donations going directly toward Second Harvest Heartland, the largest hunger relief organization in the Upper Midwest for hunger relief.

“The idea is to make the connection between interfaith dialogue and service. So many faith traditions have service, specifically hunger, as a part of their call to action through their faith, and so we thought it was a good unifying point for people,” Senior Mosaic Co-President Darcy Coulter said.

“Historically, Mosaic has been in our early stages more driven towards conversation, which is important when it comes to interfaith, but we wanted to take it a step further and to kind of make it more action oriented and we thought this was a good way to kind of bring in and involve a lot of people from different areas of campus and kind of get to together and see what we have in common and work towards a good cause,” Senior Mosaic Co-President Zoe May said.

Those who purchased tickets to the event received a shirt, prompting others to ask why they have chosen to participate in the fasting.

“We really wanted it to be more than just a bunch of people not eating, we wanted it to spark dialogue, and so that’s our reasoning behind the shirts,” Coulter said.

Habitat for Humanity is one of the many organizations co-sponsoring the event. Habitat members Ashley Perish and Tony Squillace shared their impressions of the importance of partnership with the Interfaith Day of Fasting.

“Habitat works largely in low-income areas, so it seemed very relevant. On almost every one of our trips we’ve had opportunities to attend community dinners, and we meet people sometimes who really depend on that provided meal once a week, so it really gives you a new perspective in what people actually have to go through, whether they are doing it for religious purposes, or they have a need for food or a lack of food,” Perish said.

“I think it’ll be great. It already has been generating a lot of buzz and conversation about even just why would people do this-I think that’s really important,” Squillace added.

“I really like seeing how we can come from different places and have things in common, and that’s kind of what interfaith means to me. I’m really excited to see that expand out to campus and start some new conversations that haven’t really been had, and tying it into the service component is just another way to work together,” May said.