UCLA Cru encourages spiritual conversations with week of events

He stepped in front of the crowd Wednesday night to share his story about finding God. To prepare for his talk, Trevor Davis wore a bright orange shirt each day this week with the words “I Am Trevor” on it in an effort to encourage dialogue about God at UCLA.

“I was born into a Christian home in the suburbs (of San Diego), but when Christians talked about ‘being saved’ I had no idea what they meant,” said Davis, a third-year bioengineering student and the outreach community leader for Cru. “What was I being saved from? Was I being saved from surfing?”

Davis’ description of his personal religious relationship was part of a larger week-long event conducted by UCLA Cru, a Christian organization on campus. Wednesday’s event was called “I agree with Trevor.”

Leading up to Wednesday’s event, many students in Cru walked around campus in bright orange shirts that read “I Agree With Trevor.” Davis was chosen to represent Cru because he was willing to share his story and have a spiritual conversation with random people on campus who asked about his shirt.

“This is not about Trevor or about the color orange,” said Christina Sadoma, a second-year nursing student. “It’s just about starting conversations we are not having otherwise.”

Davis told students that before he found God, he was living an unfulfilling life trying to seek approval from his friends and family.

“I was living for my own reputation, a whole bunch of image management, my heart was looking to be fulfilled in some way,” he said.

He said he felt he could finally be genuine after he became more religious.

Cru members organized the “I Agree With Trevor” campaign after other Cru groups from different campuses had successful experiences.

To promote the event, Cru members handed out informational fliers on Bruin Walk this week, asking students whether they believed in having a personal relationship with God. If they did, the students also “agreed with Trevor.”

Members of the group also set up a seven-foot-tall wooden board near Bruin Walk with two sides titled “Why I Agree” and “Why I Don’t Agree.”

Several students penned their thoughts on the board, which was filled with comments, including “I agree with Trevor because God healed me” and “I don’t agree with Trevor because I am an atheist.”

Though some students were enthusiastic about Cru’s way of promoting conversations about God, other students said they felt the organization was imposing a belief on them.

“Religion is a really personal thing and you should find it on your own,” said Matt Yee, a first-year bioengineering student.

Jade Allison, a first-year chemistry student, said Cru’s advertising and flyering for the “Meet Trevor” event made her think the students were selling a product.

“I think it’s good for people to think about what people believe in and question it, but I also think (religion is) a personal thing and you shouldn’t force people to talk about it,” Allison said.

At Wednesday night’s meeting, several Cru members performed poetry, spoken word and songs as a way of communicating their relationship with God.

Sadoma, who performed a rendition of “From This Valley” by The Civil Wars with her roommate, said she wanted to communicate the love of God with students on campus.

Rachel Wells, a part-time Cru staff member, said she thought the event helped to create a comfortable environment for students to have spiritual conversations.

Davis said Cru is unlikely to conduct a similar campaign next year, but he thinks the UCLA chapter may try to use the same approach again in a couple of years with a new student’s name.