Although several of the group's flyers were consistently taken down, members of the Pagan SA held its first meeting Wednesday to lay out plans for the future.
Seven students and a local community member discussed events such as workshops on herbology and runes, which are prophecy stones inscribed with Nordic letters.
Members researched the dates of this year's various pagan holidays and the next full moon and began planning the second annual psychic fair.
The group hit bulletin boards around campus with a series of fliers early in the semester, but the posters began to disappear almost immediately.
According to Christie Syphrit, president of Pagan SA and junior computer science major, it is not the first time their flyers have been removed.
Syphrit said that though flier removal last year may have been due to the club's failure to have some fliers approved by SA, this year all fliers contain the required SA logo. Though she is not sure who is responsible for taking down the posters, she said she doesn't expect it to last.
"Whoever takes them down gets bored by the end of the year," she said.
Those present at the meeting tried to dispel common stereotypes about their religion.
"Our purpose is to provide a meeting place for pagan or pagan-friendly students to perform religious ceremonies, exchange ideas, and generally meet like-minded people," Syphrit said.
Those ideas are often exchanged during discussions on paganism and during workshops taught by club members.
"The purpose of the workshops is to not only inform and educate the general public, but it's to share information with others in the pagan community," said Matthew Schwartz, the club's secretary and sophomore photography major.
"Education is a focal point of our club and is extremely important to help one understand the religion," Schwartz added.
Agnes Nogal, senior nutrition physiology major who co-founded Pagan SA with Syphrit, said the club does not adhere to any single religious text. She said all forms of paganism are welcome, and members can even create their own branches.
"You don't find spirituality, it finds you," said Syphrit.
The majority of the club follows the Wiccan religion, according to Nogal. There are eight major Wiccan holidays during the year, but the club is always open to celebrating more.
"We observe other holidays based on members' interest," said Schwartz.
The club consists mostly of students, but is open to anyone in the community seriously interested in paganism. One member is 56-year-old Leonard Jaz, a hypno-therapist with a clinical practice in Williamsville.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
