College can seem to fly by with the endless amount of papers, tests and homework. Campus Ministry wants to help students slow down.

Its six-week program, Voluntary Simplicity, uses the book A Discussion Course in Voluntary Simplicity to guide group discussions aimed at teaching students to live simpler, less stressful lives.

“It is so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life,” said Gerry Fischer, assistant director of Campus Ministry. “It is important to look at other ways to live.”

Campus Ministry directs the program each semester. This is its seventh year.

Fischer said he first learned about the program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He saw the benefits at UWM and thought it would be a great fit for Marquette as well.

Participants meet once a week. Each session begins with a student sharing a story that reminds them of the simple things in life and then breaks off into a discussion guided by a student facilitator, according to Fischer.

Fischer said he wants students to live with more intent after completing the program.

“I want students to say ‘I’m choosing to go to this meeting,’ not ‘I have to go to this meeting.’” Fischer said. “It is easy to ride the wave, but it is good to learn to make some choices.”

Rebecca Pierre, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she decided to participate in Voluntary Simplicity because of her hectic lifestyle.

“I am constantly busy and feel like I am being tugged into the material world,” Pierre said in an e-mail. “I hope that this program will give me time to pause and evaluate my life.”

Molly Milota, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said she wants to understand the role the Voluntary Simplicity philosophy can play in her life.

“I began to take interest in voluntary simplicity after my Christian Discipleship class last year,” Milota said in an e-mail. “I needed a new way of looking at life and its complexities.”

“I have already taken some actions to try to live more simply from day to day, but I believe that understanding voluntary simplicity in my own life will be supplemented greatly by hearing the thoughts and experiences of others,”  Milota said.

The program fits in with the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis, Fischer said. “It is important to focus on your health and sanity as a person,” he said.

Pierre thinks programs like this are important to Marquette. Though it is good to do well in class, it is important to take time and assess life.

“College life is very busy and students can easily get caught up in the whirlwind of downtown Milwaukee without taking a second to step back and admire the simple things around them,” Pierre said.

This program benefits Marquette students by providing a venue for personal improvement, Pierre said.

“Lifestyle is a choice and I think that by providing a program for students to explore lifestyle options, Marquette is helping prepare students for life after college.” Pierre said. “This is an opportunity for students to examine how they want to live and interact with the world.”