Hindu Students Council

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hindu Students Council (also known as HSC) is an organization of primarily Hindu college students in the United States of America and Canada^[1]. According to its website, it serves as an "international forum that provides opportunities to learn about Hindu heritage through various activities, events and projects." ^[2] It is an independent non-profit organization under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3).

The HSC was set up in 1990 with support from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America^[3]. It became administratively independent in 1993 and fully independent in 2003^[4][5]. Prior to its separation from its parent organization, it was considered to be the student-wing of the VHP. ^{[6][7][8][9][10]}. It maintains cordial relations with temples and organizations in America including the Chinmaya Mission, BAPS, Gayatri Parivar, Barsana Dham, Ramakrishna Mission, Art of Living, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Indian Temple and Cultural Society of North America, ISKCON, Arya Samaj, etc. Besides relations with Hindu/Indian organizations in America, HSC also maintain relations with youth organizations in Europe, Malaysia, and South Africa. ^[11]

Contents 1 Vision and goals 2 Activities 3 Allegations 4 Chapters 4.1 West Region 4.2 East-Central Region 4.3 East Canada Region 4.4 Midwest Region 4.5 Mid-Atlantic Region 4.6 Carolinas Region 4.7 New England Region 4.8 South Region 4.9 Southeast Region 5 References

[edit] Vision and goals

HSC describes itself as deriving its inspiration from the Sanatana Dharma, quoting the Rigveda.

“

The vision of HSC emerges from great realizations like: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: The entire creation is one family. "Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti": Truth is one, sages call it by various names. Sarve Api Sukhina Santu Sarve Santu Niramayah: Let everybody be happy, healthy, and blessed.[12]

”

It describes its goals as:

“

1. Provide opportunities to learn about Hindu heritage and culture. 2. Foster awareness of issues affecting Hindus. 3. Provide SEVA (service) to the community.

”

[edit] Activities

Hindu Students Council celebrates many different Hindu festivals on campus around the country.

• The Cornell Chapter has an annual Holi celebration. In 2006 and 2007, it saw over 600 students of all ethnic and religious groups celebrate the event on campus. ^{[13][14][15][16]}
• The Cornell Chapter is also the Cornell Hindu Chaplency. ^[17]
• In April 2007, the Emory Chapter, at the request of the Inter-Religious Council at Emory held a mock-Hindu wedding with over 200 attendees to show the study body how Hindu weddings are conducted and explain what the different rituals mean. ^[18]
• In July 2003, HSC along with other organizations organized the Global Dharma Conference 2003 which was attended by approximately 2000 people. Speakers at the conference included President of India Abdul Kalam, former Governor of NJ James McGreevey, Deepak Chopra, Shankaracharya of Kanchi Peetham, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Jain Spiritual Leader Mahapragyaji, Dr. Kiran Bedi and many others. Famous Tabla Maestro Zakir Hussain and Indian Reggae and Bhangra Star Apache Indian performed at the conference.^{[19][20][21][22][23]}

[edit] Allegations

Because HSC was founded with the assistance of the VHP, it has been described by Khyati Joshi as an organization "associated with Hindutva" ^[24]

Others, like Prof. Stephen Warner, however, see HSC simply as an organization promoting Hinduism on college campuses and helping Hindu students reconnect with their roots and develop their Hindu identity ^[25]. After studying HSC, Prof. Prema Kurian has come to the conclusion that HSC is composed of a wide variety of students with a range of views ranging from those for whom Hinduism is an important and emotional part of their identity to those whose upbringing did not include an emphasis on Hinduism. ^[26].

Hinduism Today, notes that it is an independent Hindu organization serving students throughout the United States.^[27]

[edit] Chapters

[edit] West Region

• CSU, Sacramento - CA
• University of California, Berkeley - CA
• University of California, Irvine - CA
• University of California, San Diego - CA
• University of Colorado, Boulder- CO

[edit] East-Central Region

• George Mason University - VA
• Johns Hopkins University - MD
• University of Maryland College Park - MD
• University of Maryland Baltimore County - MD
• University of Virginia - VA
• Virginia Commonwealth University - VA
• Virginia Tech - VA

[edit] East Canada Region

• University of Toronto, St. George - Canada
• University of Toronto, Scarborough - Canada
• McGill University - Montreal, Quebec
• Carleton University - Ottawa, Canada
• University of Ottawa - Canada

[edit] Midwest Region

• Northwestern University - IL
• Purdue University - IN
• Washington University in St. Louis - Missouri
• University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign - IL
• Drake University - IA
• University of Illinois - Chicago - IL
• University of Michigan - Ann Arbor - MI
• Illinois Institute of Technology - IL
• University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - IL
• University of Iowa - IA
• University of Pittsburgh - PA

[edit] Mid-Atlantic Region

• Cornell University - NY
• New York University - NY
• Syracuse University - NY
• Drexel University - PA
• NetOHM (Network Of Hindu Minds) - Metro (NYC/NY)
• New Jersey Institute of Technology - NJ
• Penn State University - PA
• City College of New York - NY
• Princeton University - NJ
• Binghamton University - NY
• Middlesex County College, Edison - NJ
• University of Pennsylvania - PA
• CUNY - Baruch College - NY
• Rutgers University - NJ
• CUNY - Hunter College - NY
• St. John’s University - NY
• CUNY - Queens College - NY

[edit] Carolinas Region

• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill - NC
• University of South Carolina - SC
• Duke University - NC
• North Carolina State University - NC

[edit] New England Region

• Northeastern University - MA
• University of Massachusetts, Boston - MA
• Boston University - MA
• NetOHM Boston - MA
• MIT - MA

[edit] South Region

• Louisiana State University - LA
• University of Houston - TX
• NetOHM Houston - TX
• University of Oklahoma - OK
• Oklahoma State University - OK
• Texas A&M, College Station - TX
• University of Texas, Austin - TX
• University of Texas, Dallas - TX
• Bellaire High School - TX
• Rice University - TX

[edit] Southeast Region

• Georgia Institute of Technology - GA
• University of South Florida - FL
• Florida Institute of Technology - FL
• University of Alabama, Birmingham - AL
• Emory University - GA
• University of Florida, Gainesville - FL
• University of Miami - FL
• Oxford College at Emory University - GA

[edit] References