"But if a mainline Christian religion is mentioned . . . you can expect a hard time if you admit that you're taking it seriously. Today it is easier for an Xer living in an urban area to say he or she is a Buddhist than to admit to being a Catholic.

"Perhaps our imaginations have been so narrowed that we don't know what to make of our inner longings. And since, typically, we are illiterate about Christian traditions, when we find ourselves at a religious service, it simply feels out of place-or perhaps we feel out of place. Either way, our sense of self is affronted.

"Those who still have a vague interest in organized religion are dogged by a sense that any expressed conventional faith would be laughed at by peers. So they live their raw faith in a secret part of themselves-everything private and individual-causing no one any social discomfort. . . . But somehow we stumble toward the sacred, bumping into it almost by accident in the rush of our lives. . . . [Yet] we live in a time when the words and rhythms and rituals our grandparents took for granted are no longer offered to us. The soul searchings of their grandchildren are unspoken, isolated and alone." [From Prism, July/August 1996, quoted by Martin Marty in Context, December 1, 1996]

ATHEISTS NEED FELLOWSHIP TOO!
Contending that atheist, humanist and skeptical views are often met with hostility on campus, students from fifteen schools have formed the Campus Freethought Alliance. "As members of a small but significant minority, we often have been forced to reside in an environment caustic to our needs, interests and convictions," wrote the students in a statement calling for the organization of freethought organizations on every campus. "Student religious groups exist on virtually all college and university campuses, { but] corresponding freethought, secular humanist and unbeliever groups do not. A campus freethought organization can provide much-needed support and, when necessary, help defend unbelievers' rights." [Christian Century, January 1-8, 1997]

BLACK STUDENT ENROLLMENT UP
More black students than ever before are attending college, according to a study released by the College Fund/UNCF, formerly known as the United Negro College Fund. But, the report added, black students continue to face hurdles, especially in earning advanced degrees and in becoming professors. Total enrollment of black students at U.S. colleges grew by 40 percent from 1976 to 1994. These students made up 10.1 percent of the student body in 1994. Nonetheless, black students remain underrepresented on campuses, particularly at prestigious research institutions. Furthermore, black women tend to enroll in vocational courses, and black men in associate-degree programs. [Reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 7, 1997]

DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?
Three out of ten students don't know the names of their professors, according to Dr. Steven J. Kirsh, a psychology professor. When 106 students were asked to identify either the first or last names of the professor in a question on their first exam of the semester, 32 students didn't have a clue. Students who did know the name of their prof averaged six percentage points higher on the exam. "To students, there is no reason to learn the professor's name," concedes Kirsh. "It's not something you need to know to pass a class." [Findings published in Psychology, A Journal of Human Behavior]