WEBVTT

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Welcome back. My name is Iqbal Akhter here in

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Miami, and we're very honored to have Tara here

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with us. who is heading efforts to develop the

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Bell Chapel here at Florida International University.

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And she will introduce herself in a little bit

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about the work that she's currently doing on

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creating this really remarkable multi -faith

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space for Miami at a university, kind of a third

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space, something that's not traditionally sort

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of understood as a university, not traditionally

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understood as a place. as a faith -based institution

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but having sort of this open pluralistic space

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where we can have different types of discussions

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among different types of students, a place where

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you can pray, you can explore spirituality, a

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place where all types of sort of activities that

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are related to spiritual life and growth occur

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and that that spiritual life is part of the student

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experience here at FIU. So we're very honored

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to have Tara on very short notice coming to join

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us for this podcast. And I'll turn it over to

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Tara. Thank you. I appreciate you inviting me

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on the short notice. Still, I'm happy to be here.

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So my name is Tara Orozoli. I work at FIU Foundation

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and I'm a director of development for strategic

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initiatives. And my my biggest and most important

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project is the Trish and Dan Bell Multifaith

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Chapel. If if anybody has been on campus and

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has driven down up into the entrance of 107.

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and passed the Reagan House and just clicked

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your head to the right, you can't miss it. It's

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a huge building and it's gorgeous. It's very

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eye -catching. And more than that is what the

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building is going to represent. It is, in fact,

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exactly what you said. It is a multi -faith chapel,

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not an interfaith chapel. There is a distinction.

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It is a multi -faith chapel, which means it is

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open to everyone. It does not matter what your

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belief system, what your faith is. If you have

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no faith necessarily that you ascribe to, you

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are still welcome. Everyone is welcome. What

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we do plan to have there, though, are interfaith

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opportunities, whether it's programming or education,

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courses, seminars, or even just the spontaneous

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interaction between visitors who come from different

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faith backgrounds. That is what the chapel is

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there for. foster and spark that dialogue that

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is so necessary, I think, today. Absolutely.

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Talk to us a little bit about the building's

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design. What are some of the interesting features

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or what makes it unique? So one of the things

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that I have tried to research extensively, so

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I say this with caution, I don't believe that

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there is another public university in the state

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of Florida. that has built something like this

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from the ground up with this intention in mind.

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I think FIU is the first, so way to go FIU. So

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the building is designed by Miami -based architect

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Gori Matute, and it's designed based off of the

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sacred geometry of nature. So anything that you

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would see mathematically repeating in nature,

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those design elements were put into the chapel.

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It was done intentionally so that there is not

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a nod or a focus or a lean to any one religion

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or any one faith. It's very neutral. It invites

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everyone. And it really does embody nature so

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much that if you look from the aerial view, you

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can see it a bit when you look at it face on.

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But from the aerial view, you can see it has

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been designed in the shape of a fish, which is

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one of the symbols that we have found represented

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in many faiths. So it's... about it's large it's

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about eight over eighteen thousand square feet

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it has a three thousand plus square foot sanctuary

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with no fixed furniture because it is extremely

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important that all groups can come and pray or

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worship in the manner that that they choose so

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if the muslim community wants to come and lay

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their rugs down they're able to do so you can't

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do that with fixed pews or chairs So there's

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a lot of storage space in that chapel because

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of that. But there's the sanctuary. It has two

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reflection or prayer rooms for individual prayer,

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which are separate, attached but separate from

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the chapel itself by a corridor so that when

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the chapel is closed during regular hours, students

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can still come, use their one card, swipe and

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get in. up to a certain time if they feel the

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need or they feel the desire to pray within those

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individual prayer rooms as well as in the main

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bathrooms of the chapel there are ablution stations

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so that the muslim community can pray can prepare

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before they they pray it also has an event space

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uh phase two we will have with a prep kitchen

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we will also have we have some spiritual counseling

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rooms we have about three of those and we also

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have a seminar room so where classes could be

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held. So it's really a well thought out design

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and it's meant to hold many different types of

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events and really, you know, be there for many

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different purposes. So phase two will be Sacred

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Garden, so stay tuned. Oh wow, that's amazing.

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Okay, great. Can you tell us a little bit about

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the background with regards to the bells and

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kind of what their initial vision was for this

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chapel? So the Bells are wonderful human beings,

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major philanthropists in South Florida, and they've

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given to many different causes. When they came

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to FIU and they were approached with different

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ways that they could help this community, when

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they heard that there was not a space for students

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to come and reflect, to pray, to question, to

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memorialize, they could not believe it. They

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were shocked. And immediately, I think they said,

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I think Trish kicked Dan under the table or they

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kicked each other and said, this is it. This

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is what we're doing. And I dare say, you know,

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I think that if they've watched this or if anybody

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talks to them, I think I'm safe to say this is

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one of the most important projects that they

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have ever been a part of. So it's kind of a legacy

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for them. And I'm really, really eager and excited

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to have it finished soon so that they can see

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it, be a part of it. So where's the project at

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right now? So like I said, when you come into

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the campus off of 107th and 16th Street, just

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behind the President's House, the Reagan House,

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there's the chapel sitting next to it, lakeside.

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So right across from the Graham Center, that's

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where you'll see. The road kind of curves gently

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around there, and that was done intentionally

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as well. That whole road had to be... redesigned

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and rerouted, which is why it took a little bit

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of time to get started. But they specifically

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curved it to make the drive, when you drive past

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it, feel like you're entering a slower, more

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spiritual space as well. Oh, wonderful. Great.

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I mean, that's a very important part of it. I

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think just the aesthetics, the architecture,

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the way that you're able to connect to... The

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environment, I think, is a very important part

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of spirituality. We were talking a little bit

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earlier about where Americans are at in terms

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and, you know, particularly sort of our students

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in terms of spirituality. What are people looking

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for in terms of spirituality? What are some of

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the things that you've seen in talking to people

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about the chapel? So. Most of the response I

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have gotten has been very positive. And I actually

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was able to spend time in Chicago with an organization

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called Interfaith America. I know you're aware.

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And it was able to speak to a wide range of students

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from across the country. And it's a similar,

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I hear the same message echoed. People want a

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place where, and I think people are ready to.

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not just be tolerant of others' beliefs or religious

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ideas. They really are looking for respect and

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understanding. It's okay that we don't agree.

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It's fine. But rather than tolerate yours, because

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tolerance can be until, I tolerate you until

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I no longer do. I want to respect that we have

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a difference of opinions that maybe culturally

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you were raised a different way and that's how

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your ideas came. to be a part of your core. So

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I think people today are really, really yearning

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for a deeper sense of spirituality and a deeper

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sense of community. Learning about how do you

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celebrate the religious holidays in December?

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How do you celebrate Passover, Easter, Lent,

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whatever it may be, Ramadan. And I think that

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people are really appreciating seeing those differences.

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Right. Yeah. So I think that's something that...

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One of the advantages, we're kind of like now

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in the maybe third generation in the United States

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of Americans who have grown up on a model of

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America that is multicultural and that believes

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that there's not just one way of what it means

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to be an American, but it's very... multicultural.

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And I think the other word that we use a lot

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is pluralism. The idea that you can have many

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different ways of being and that those are equally

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valid. And you can learn from each other and

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that you don't necessarily have to agree with

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everything, but that you allow there to be a

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space for the conversation and that people are

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allowed to live the best version of their lives.

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And I think that's really important. And faith

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is an important part of that. One of the other

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things that we really see is that, you know,

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there's this, within religious studies, we see

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what's called the de -churching of America. So

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a lot of people have left traditional churches.

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They've been disillusioned for whatever reason,

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whether it's the Catholic tradition, whether

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it's the evangelical tradition. And yet at the

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same time, people want a sense of spirituality,

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that there is something greater out there. And

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they also want a sense of community as well.

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So they want to be able to have fellowship with

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other people who are like -minded, and especially

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if they have families, they want to raise children

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in some sort of moral and ethical framework that's

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important for them, that's based in a community.

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And so I think that's something that the chapel

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might be able to help students with, is to be

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able to explore other traditions from... whatever

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the tradition they came from. Interfaith America

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is a wonderful organization that allows students

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to explore that, but a lot of times students

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will come to the university not necessarily thinking

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very deeply about religion or just kind of whatever

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they grew up with and then they're now you know

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they meet someone you know a Muslim woman with

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a hijab for instance or they're meeting someone

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who practices a different religious tradition

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like Santeria and so that spurs them to think

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a little bit more deeply about religion and spirituality

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in their lives and kind of what that means. So

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it's not simply about production and consumption,

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kind of an economic perspective, but there's

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something greater. And that doesn't necessarily

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mean conversion either. It doesn't mean that

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you have to convert to another faith, but simply

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sometimes even learning about other religious

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traditions and truth in other traditions strengthens

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your own understanding of your spirituality.

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Absolutely. 100 % agree. And I really... I mean,

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talking to you now, I've thought of this, but

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it really does hit home right now, is that there

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isn't, I don't think there is a better place

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to have those discussions and to really dive

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into that other than, you know, besides a higher

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education institution. This is the time that

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people, you know, young, well, we have students

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of all ages, but where they are going to question,

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they're out there learning different, all different

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disciplines. you know, it makes you question

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your choice of what you want to do in your life,

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what might make you question. And I think that,

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you know, when you take away the, I think the

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fear is really from not knowing. Oh, absolutely.

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And when you learn and you get the information

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firsthand from the woman in the hijab, you realize

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there are so many more things that we have in

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common and so many threads, a thread that connects

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all of these faiths and all these religious ideologies.

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then there are things that separate us absolutely

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absolutely and i think especially like south

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florida is just so religiously pluralistic as

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well. And so like every major faith community

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in the world is represented in South Florida,

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which is remarkable. Just the number of immigrants

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that are here and just the way that they've invested

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in building, you know, whether it's a Hindu temple

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or the remarkable synagogues that are here and

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kind of the history of Jewish Miami and our Jewish

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museum that we have. I mean, there's just so

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much religious heritage, I think, that's here.

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And one of the things that I've, you know, our

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students really, really enjoy is just being able

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to visit these places and partake in services.

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I think that's been something that's really amazing

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for them. So like if the students will go to

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a Hindu temple for a puja and then they're able

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to partake in the prasad and sort of eat some

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of the food of the community, that makes a massive

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impact on people, you know, their perception.

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I agree with you on a personal level. Well, what

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you just said makes Miami one of the best places

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in the world to live. It really is. So you're

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all lucky. But just being introduced to some

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of the different ceremonies with my own friends.

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I have a very close friend who's Hindu. And I've

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been invited to Diwali and I've been invited

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to other ceremonies. And the feeling of welcome

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and the embrace that I get from her family. making

00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:57.220
me a part of the ceremony, having me do the,

00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:03.259
it's literally, it, I feel such an honor. I mean,

00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:07.059
how can you not, how can you not be uplifted?

00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:09.179
And that's, I really think it's important for

00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:12.200
as many people as possible to experience the,

00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:14.679
have those experiences because it really does

00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:18.620
make you feel like you are, you know, a collective,

00:15:18.659 --> 00:15:22.070
you know, much more than we are. just you know

00:15:22.070 --> 00:15:24.950
a divided community no absolutely i totally agree

00:15:24.950 --> 00:15:30.870
with that um i mean do you have any um story

00:15:30.870 --> 00:15:33.389
like what is your spiritual background or your

00:15:33.389 --> 00:15:35.389
story would if you'd be comfortable in sharing

00:15:35.389 --> 00:15:41.309
sure no i'm fine um i actually my mother was

00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:44.919
uh went to catholic school she's italian you're

00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:47.419
kept traditional catholic nuns and all of the

00:15:47.419 --> 00:15:51.080
the works and my father grew up pretty much an

00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:53.779
atheist okay he's now i believe now agnostic

00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:56.159
he's gone to agnosticism but he was an atheist

00:15:56.159 --> 00:16:00.720
so uh they had five children um and they they

00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:04.360
came to an agreement that none of the children

00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:08.279
would be baptized until they were older and they

00:16:08.279 --> 00:16:10.870
could decide for themselves Needless to say,

00:16:10.970 --> 00:16:14.710
every one of my sisters and brother did it at

00:16:14.710 --> 00:16:17.269
the same time they became baptized and the religion

00:16:17.269 --> 00:16:21.190
that they chose, which was Catholicism. And I

00:16:21.190 --> 00:16:24.809
chose not to because I just wasn't, I couldn't

00:16:24.809 --> 00:16:28.509
latch onto one. There were so many things and

00:16:28.509 --> 00:16:32.149
so many of the different traditions that I couldn't

00:16:32.149 --> 00:16:35.269
commit to one. I said, no. So I decided to be,

00:16:35.330 --> 00:16:38.669
I was just going to be more spiritual than religious.

00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:43.879
And truly, if I'm being completely honest, once

00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:47.740
I had my first child, the love that I felt and

00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:52.399
that kind of connection and magic pushed me to

00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:54.879
give thanks to something and to commit to something.

00:16:55.059 --> 00:17:00.360
So I did end up being baptized Catholic, really

00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:04.180
more for that reason. And it didn't matter to

00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:07.480
me. Honestly, it was like, to me, I'm talking

00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:12.779
to everybody. But I don't really practice. I

00:17:12.779 --> 00:17:16.099
really have gone back to more spiritual but not

00:17:16.099 --> 00:17:20.740
religious. I find that my comfort and my faith

00:17:20.740 --> 00:17:26.539
is heavily rooted in nature. And yeah, so I follow

00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:30.940
more seasonal kinds of holidays and religious

00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:33.680
ceremonies. Okay. Yeah, absolutely. No, I think

00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:37.869
that it's a very important part. you know, to,

00:17:37.970 --> 00:17:40.990
you know, to be connected to some sort of spirituality

00:17:40.990 --> 00:17:43.430
and to give deeper meaning, I think, to our lives.

00:17:44.109 --> 00:17:46.630
And it's just reflect on that because that's

00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:50.069
something that, you know, just being in a state

00:17:50.069 --> 00:17:52.730
of gratitude also, I think, is something that's

00:17:52.730 --> 00:17:55.190
very helpful in terms of our spirituality and

00:17:55.190 --> 00:17:57.410
then also focusing on ethics, right? And so especially

00:17:57.410 --> 00:18:01.009
when we have children, how to raise them as good

00:18:01.009 --> 00:18:03.269
people and some sort of moral and ethical framework.

00:18:03.569 --> 00:18:05.430
And spirituality definitely helps with that,

00:18:05.490 --> 00:18:08.650
I think, you know. So that's amazing. And you're

00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:10.829
originally from Miami as well. I am. I'm a native.

00:18:10.869 --> 00:18:13.309
I'm one of the rare natives left in Miami. And

00:18:13.309 --> 00:18:16.410
I have four kids myself. And I will tell you

00:18:16.410 --> 00:18:20.309
that even though they were all baptized Catholic,

00:18:20.569 --> 00:18:25.250
because my former spouse was Catholic, but every

00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:27.710
single one of them, they're very spiritual. And

00:18:27.710 --> 00:18:31.099
the most important thing is to be kind. You know,

00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:33.559
choose what you want to do. Just be kind, you

00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:36.519
know, with harm to nobody. Just whatever you

00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:39.140
want to do, make sure it harms no one. Exactly.

00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:42.039
That's the rule. That's right. Absolutely. Yeah.

00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:45.740
I mean, how, so growing up here, how has Miami

00:18:45.740 --> 00:18:48.720
changed from the time that you grew up? It is,

00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:55.519
it leads and bounds change. So much. When I grew

00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:59.470
up. I'm an alum and I graduated a long time ago.

00:18:59.690 --> 00:19:04.329
And I don't think we had paved garages back then

00:19:04.329 --> 00:19:06.029
or parking lots. I think we parked out in gravel.

00:19:07.069 --> 00:19:09.970
And there were just a few trees with the braces

00:19:09.970 --> 00:19:14.490
that were just being planted. And we didn't have

00:19:14.490 --> 00:19:20.150
as much diversity. I grew up in a Latin community.

00:19:20.329 --> 00:19:23.150
My friends were Cuban immigrants. I am honorary

00:19:23.150 --> 00:19:25.910
Cuban, I'm told by my friends. My friends were

00:19:25.910 --> 00:19:29.289
Cuban immigrants, and that was basically the

00:19:29.289 --> 00:19:33.589
main demographic here. You had the Jewish community,

00:19:33.730 --> 00:19:36.150
you had the Cubans, and then you had the natives,

00:19:36.190 --> 00:19:41.250
the Americans. And now it's just, I mean, we

00:19:41.250 --> 00:19:44.130
have every nationality represented, which is

00:19:44.130 --> 00:19:46.490
phenomenal because we have the best food, we

00:19:46.490 --> 00:19:49.190
have the best music, we have the best entertainment

00:19:49.190 --> 00:19:53.500
and art. I left about, I think I want to say

00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:56.980
I left in 1997 and I traveled the world with

00:19:56.980 --> 00:20:01.119
the military. And when I came back, I was stunned,

00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:07.240
stunned. The growth has been exponential. I think

00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:11.240
that we are, I mean, we are one of the most interesting

00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:14.099
and exciting places to live because of the diversity,

00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:16.740
because of how many different cultures are represented.

00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:19.440
I mean, the beaches are great too. And the weather

00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:21.599
is great too. But it has changed quite a bit.

00:20:21.740 --> 00:20:24.099
Right, right. Okay. That's great. I mean, yeah,

00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:28.400
I think that's one of the assets of FIU and even

00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:30.420
the chapel is just that it's in a place where

00:20:30.420 --> 00:20:33.980
there is a tremendous amount of influx of new

00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:36.960
energy, different types of people. And I think

00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:40.160
that just gives it a lot of vibrancy to any sort

00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:42.160
of effort that we're trying to develop here.

00:20:42.539 --> 00:20:44.720
So I think that's been pretty amazing. It is.

00:20:44.740 --> 00:20:47.019
It has been amazing. And I think that FIU is

00:20:47.019 --> 00:20:52.690
doing a phenomenal job. And kind of just responding

00:20:52.690 --> 00:20:56.349
to that where I think that what they're doing

00:20:56.349 --> 00:20:59.029
now is, you know, we are trying to look at students

00:20:59.029 --> 00:21:01.789
in a more holistic manner. So, you know, not

00:21:01.789 --> 00:21:04.069
just focusing on the academics and the sports,

00:21:04.089 --> 00:21:06.630
but bringing in the spiritual aspect because

00:21:06.630 --> 00:21:09.230
it's all encompassing. I mean, if you for our

00:21:09.230 --> 00:21:11.869
international relations students, you want to

00:21:11.869 --> 00:21:14.710
have good relations with people from across the

00:21:14.710 --> 00:21:17.289
globe. you should know something about their

00:21:17.289 --> 00:21:19.250
faith and their spiritual background that's going

00:21:19.250 --> 00:21:21.490
to help you. So I think that that's, it's smart.

00:21:21.609 --> 00:21:25.170
And it's also something that's going to be, I'm

00:21:25.170 --> 00:21:28.710
hoping that, that we're role models and trailblazers

00:21:28.710 --> 00:21:31.450
for other institutions because it's, it's time.

00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:36.250
I think that we, we add this into the student,

00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:38.750
whole student experience. Absolutely. Yeah, no,

00:21:38.829 --> 00:21:41.819
definitely. I think it's, Something that, you

00:21:41.819 --> 00:21:43.900
know, I'm really hoping that we're able to get

00:21:43.900 --> 00:21:47.940
to phase two and, you know, finally have it sort

00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:52.619
of the full vision kind of realized. Are there

00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:56.299
any, so if anyone's interested in learning more

00:21:56.299 --> 00:22:00.140
about the chapel, how would they go about learning

00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:03.079
more about it? You just give me a call or you

00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:06.980
can email me. It's T -O -R -E -Z -Z -O -L at

00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:10.119
F -I -U dot E -D -U. Or you can call me at 305

00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:15.819
-348 -7429. You can even call myself. I'm sure

00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:17.240
it's there somewhere. We'll put it in the show

00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:19.660
notes. Yes. Just let, just give me a call or,

00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.920
you know, reach out to anybody at the foundation

00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:25.420
or at religious studies, the SIPA, that department,

00:22:25.660 --> 00:22:27.160
they'll, they'll be able to reach you to the

00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:31.019
person. And I'd be happy to give. tours you know

00:22:31.019 --> 00:22:33.339
okay wonderful do you guys have a website yet

00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:35.680
or not we do okay we do have a website so i'll

00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:37.740
put a link to that as well yes yes and then hopefully

00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:40.440
you know there'll be some um events coming uh

00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:43.099
forthcoming pretty soon yeah i'm hoping yes we're

00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:45.700
hoping for fall of 2025 we'll be open so okay

00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:48.180
all right wonderful well thank you so much tara

00:22:48.180 --> 00:22:50.200
this is like yeah pleasure is there anything

00:22:50.200 --> 00:22:54.119
else you want to say uh go panthers okay all

00:22:54.119 --> 00:22:56.119
right perfect all right thank you so much thank

00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.160
you thank you all right take care thanks