By Jonathan Madsen
According to BYU''s Fact File, 99 percent of Brigham Young University''s students are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
'You learn to blend in at BYU, because it''s the norm to do that,' said Willem Van Schalkwyk, 20, a piano performance and mathematics major from Namibia. Schalkwyk blends well, but he doesn''t take religion for granted. He currently leads the incarceration of the Baptist Student Union. 'It''s just different,' he said.
The Baptist Student Union is one of at least five religious clubs on campus not associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Teri Phommabouth, a graduate student, is the secretary of BYU''s Newman Club. The Newman Club is specifically for Catholics. Like Schalkwyk, Phommabouth doesn''t make a big public deal about her religion. 'In general I don''t announce that I''m Catholic because it''s a distraction.'
Phommabouth grew up in Utah Valley. She said the religious issue isn''t as big a deal now as in junior high. Some kids used to tease her about such things as wearing the cross. 'The cross is a reminder of what Christ did. We don''t worship it. I hope parents realize there are people here who aren''t LDS who are good people. They''re not evil.'
Phommabouth was the president of the Newman Club last year, but has since allowed other students to enjoy the presidency positions. She said the Newman Club has about 30 members out of about 100 Catholics enrolled at BYU.
Although not specifically a religious club, the Arabesque Club attracts a few Muslems. Grad student Enass Tinah brings with her several Islamic religious customs from her home in Ramallah, Palestine. She can be seen around campus wearing a veil around her head to symbolize her committment.
Right now, Tinah is involved in Ramadan which is the Islamic month of fasting. Until probably this Friday, Dec. 14, Tinah will fast from sunup to sundown.
BYU provides room 3234 of the Wilkinson Student Center for Muslems to pray on Fridays. 'It''s different, but we have similar values,' Tinah said.
Despite having several different customs than the usual BYU crowd, all three said they fit well here. 'It''s interesting that many Mormon students are antagonistic about the regulations,' Shalkwyk said. 'But I think that is what makes BYU special from just about 98 percent of universities around the world.'
Both Phommabouth and Tinah said they hoped more students would learn more about their respective religions.