It’s hard to keep the acronyms straight at Hopkins. From LADE to IFP to DSF; this University is swimming in condensed class titles. One might fear that any shortened name would just drown in the mix - but luckily, there is something special about OHOH. "Open Hands Open Hearts" is a week-and-a-half long series of events designed to bring awareness of the diverse faith groups on campus.

The closing event to this year’s OHOH was "Celestial Jeopardy." It reminded me of that old joke, "So, a priest, a rabbi and a minister walk into a bar" Well, except that this wasn’t a bar, it was the Interfaith Center. Make the minister Buddhist, add an Imam, and a load of religious trivia and there you have it. The Campus Ministers had come out to show their faith knowledge in categories including "food" and "sacred texts." The competition was stiff, but they all played reasonably fair.

Rabbi Katz, who fooled the spectators beforehand by predicting his failure, breezed through enough questions to seal the victory. Father Ryan, on the other hand, received much criticism from the crowd of Catholic supporters when he was slow to ring in on questions like, "Name four of the seven deadly sins." The Catholic Community was forced to swallow their pride and accept his last place finish. However, the crème puffs and other desserts at the event were fairly nice compensation.

The event was a success on all counts, and gave the Interfaith Center a chance to shine in its finest areas: food, fun, and faith. It is a blessing that we live in an environment where four ministers of very different religions can sit down and not just debate or discuss, but even play together. The IFC and events like Open Hands Open Hearts give us the opportunity to experience and learn about diverse traditions in a positive atmosphere. We may not need to know the trivia of each faith to be successful in our journeys, but finding common ground in simple, open-minded interactions makes the path a lot more interesting and meaningful.

If you didn’t make it to Celestial Jeopardy this year, don’t worry- I’m fairly sure you can find the Campus Ministers doing foolish things throughout the year. But do make sure to take advantage of the range of backgrounds and personalities at Hopkins. Open your eyes and see what’s out there - and maybe next year you’ll join us with Open Hands Open Hearts. Ð