The University of Wisconsin-Waukesha has a new group that provides unconventional opportunities for spiritual students.

The Pagan Student Alliance was formed four weeks ago by Amber Braun, 20, a sophomore at UW-Waukesha, a two-year school.

"I ran into another student who shared my same beliefs so we looked into starting a group," Braun said. "We soon found more people who shared our beliefs."

The group had to go in front of a committee in order to gain approval, according to Patrick Schmitt, campus executive officer and dean.

The alliance has 18 members but not all of them are pagan, according to Braun.

The group was started so students could talk about spiritual ideas with others who share this interest, Braun said. Some members of the group are Christian but share similar beliefs.

The term "pagan" is an umbrella term used to describe many different spiritualities that tend to be earth-based, she said.

People following earth-based spiritualities view the earth as sacred. They also focus on planetary movements in relation to holidays and drawing aspects of nature, like herbs, from the earth, Braun said.

Pagans are usually polytheistic and individuals have many of their own beliefs, she said.

According to Braun, there are 115 other student pagan groups in the U.S., but the group at UW-Waukesha is not affiliated with any other groups.

The Pagan Student Alliance is having a pumpkin painting table and a tarot reader in the university's cafeteria for Halloween today as a part of a membership drive for all student groups, Braun said.

Braun said she hopes the group will grow and would like to have activities to help the community.

"I would like to have a food drive after Thanksgiving because there are always food drives during Thanksgiving but never after," she said.

Although it is not a typical student group on campus, the general consensus about its presence hasn't been negative.

"I think it is a good idea to have a variety of groups on campus," said Mary Runke, a UW-Waukesha sophomore who describes herself as an active student on campus. "I think clubs are a great tool for students to utilize."

The reaction to the group is the kind of tolerance you would hope for in a small liberal arts school, according to Schmitt.

Braun said the reaction to the group has been "extremely positive" on campus.

"Members of other clubs have come up to us and congratulated us on having a successful club," she said. "The only negativity we have experienced has been off-campus when people question if the group is tax-supported."

The group is supported by a segment of tuition set aside for student organizations, Schmitt said.

No direct taxpayer money is going to the group as a news report had said, he said.

"We are thinking about writing into our constitution that we will self-support ourselves just so we aren't accused of being supported by taxes," Braun said.

Alan Stager, president of student government at UW-Waukesha, said as far as he knew, there has not been any negative backlash.

Members of the Student Pagan Alliance are "nice people and very welcome" on campus, Stager said.