Every Spring, St. Louis University highlights social justice issues around the world through Atlas Week. The program focuses on a few key issues each year to raise awareness about global injustice. Internationally renowned speakers are brought in and special events are hosted by a wide variety of student groups. This year, Atlas week is focusing it's attention on diversity, gender-equality, and cross-cultural understanding in an increasingly global world. The keynote address will be given by Hauwa Ibrahim, one of the top defenders of women's rights in Nigeria. Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, will also be coming to campus. It is a big week. 
Distinguished universities around the country attach veritas, the latin word for truth, into their university motto. Universities pride themselves in being places where truth is sought and found, yet emptiness still exists on these campuses. A study at UCLA shows that over 50% of entering freshmen hope to define and explore their beliefs in college, but the classroom hasn't been a place where students can engage their questions. The Veritas Forum was started at Harvard by a group of students, faculty and ministers who desired to explore the original understanding of veritas. The Veritas Forum creates space for all people to explore ideas and pursue Truth in the university setting. How will InterVarsity be engaging the campuses of SLU and WU with matters of faith in the coming week?
InterVarsity students & staff at SLU are using Atlas Week as an opportunity to take campus conversations beyond awareness & activism regarding issues of global injustice. As Christians, we know the problem doesn't start with the system, it starts with us - people. The fact is, broken people can't fix a broken system, that's why we need a savior. So while issues of injustice are highlighted on campus this week, InterVarsity is hosting an interactive display to take the conversation further. We're inviting SLU students to look deeper, not just at the brokenness of the world, but at the brokenness in their own lives. Human greed, selfishness, laziness all play a role in the existence of forced slavery, genocide, sex trafficking. We want students to realize that awareness & activism alone won't cure these human conditions, only Jesus can draw people out of these diseases to bring real healing to our world.
These posters will be setup on a display board in the student center. SLU students will be guided by InterVarsity students and invited to put their response on the poster. The display will serve as an opportunity to engage students into deeper conversations about the Gospel.
At WU, InterVarsity is collaborating with several other ministries to elevate conversations about Jesus on the college campus. On March 29th at 7pm, the first Veritas Forum will be hosted at WU. It will be a dialogue presenting theistic and naturalistic perspectives on altruism and selfless love.
Our desire is to see the college campus engage the whole student. While many classroom settings may deny the importance of faith, we seek to fully integrate faith with the life of the mind.
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