Miscommunication is a problem every campus encounters when it’s as diverse as Iowa State. Multiple religious and secular student organizations are cosponsoring a Campus Conversation panel Jan. 22 in the Memorial Union to encourage civil, interfaith dialogues.

The panel will be in the Great Hall at 6 p.m. and is free to observe. It is the first of a series of Campus Conversations dealing with interfaith discussions. This one focuses particularly on understanding and respecting different faiths.

“Future panels will be more focused on philosophical topics surrounding religions, but this first panel is about removing the misunderstandings and the stigmas of different faiths and focuses on respect,” said Viraj Shah, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering.

Shah is a treasurer of Hindu YUVA, one of the four student organizations hosting the panel. The other student groups are the Atheist and Agnostic Society, the Pakistan Student Association and the Orthodox Christian Fellowship of Iowa State.

Each group is allowed a maximum of two people on the panel.

The Office for Diversity and Inclusion is also involved with the event. According to Shah, the idea for an interfaith panel arose last year during an event hosted by Hindu YUVA.

“We had an interfaith panel during the International Day of Nonviolence. Five faiths spoke there. People from the Office for Diversity and Inclusion were there, and they wanted to replicate it,” Shah said.

The International Day of Nonviolence observes the life and philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi, and is held each year on the Hindu leader’s birthday.

Shah believes these conversations could be effective in creating more substantive conversations between mostly unaffiliated groups of people.

“I am comfortable being a Hindu [at Iowa State], but I rarely organize events with other faiths, so this is a good place to have new dialogues among diverse groups,” Shah said.