There's typical and then there's typical.
Sometimes what separates the two are religious values and beliefs that determine how many times a day you pray, whether or not you drink, and the kinds of stereotypes you might have to deal with. For University students who practice a religion with specific prescriptions for how to live, their version of typical may be defined differently.
"Islam is a guideline for life," fourth-year College student Sana Khalid said. "And it's really hard to be in college, where you have so many things happening around you that are contrary or not conducive to you and your faith."
When Khalid got home to her University Heights apartment a little after 5 p.m. on a Thursday several weeks ago, she looked set to have a typical evening for a college student. She was still in the work-out clothes she had worn to her self-defense class at Memorial Gym when the phone started to ring.
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After a few calls to straighten out an e-mail mix- up - someone had mistakenly been receiving all her messages that day - another round of ringing started. A friend wanted to know if she could go see U2, Khalid's favorite band, the next night in Baltimore.
A typical answer would have been an enthusiastic "Yes." But Khalid's answer, in the end, had to be no.
As president of the Muslim Students Association, she was scheduled to take part in a meeting the next afternoon with Virginia football coach Al Groh, who made a comment Sept. 19 about Arabs and airplanes that many members of the University community found offensive.
The meeting was scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Probably not enough time to get to the concert.
For Khalid, as a Muslim, her priority rested with her faith.
Khalid is not alone in trying to follow her religious beliefs in a community where the majority of students do not adhere to the same values.
As a Jehovah's Witness, second-year College student Amber Payne is used to having to explain her beliefs to others. Jehovah's Witnesses believe in political neutrality and do not celebrate birthdays or holidays.
"It's a very different religion to a lot of people," said Payne, who in the last month did not participate in Halloween festivities or vote like many of her peers. "I've always been in the minority on those things."
At the University, Payne's minority is a very small one indeed. She knows of only four other Witnesses here, which also has an impact on the choices she makes.
"I know that I'm a representative of Jehovah's Witnesses and my speech and conduct can easily be observed by others around me," Payne said. "It's something I have to be conscious of and sometimes that's hard."
In a college environment where alcohol drives many of the social activities, students who practice a religion that shuns drinking often have difficulty finding alternatives.
"We don't drink and obviously that's a major part of college life," said Ann Councill, who is a Mormon - a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "And it's not hard for me personally to not go out and drink, but it's hard socially because Rugby Road is such a part of U.Va. social life and I'm not part of Rugby Road. It's not my scene."
Khalid said living with "day-to-day God consciousness" is often more of a challenge than facing drinking and partying.
"Since people around you aren't praying five times a day, since Muslims around you are not always doing what is required, then it's a challenge to make the decision whether you're going to do it or not," she said.
Having the support of fellow followers can aid one in carrying out religious guidelines. Councill said she has found it easier to date members of her church because "there are standards and guidelines that you don't have to cover as far as things that we do and we don't do."
But Councill, Payne and Khalid said that surrounding yourself with only people of your religion is not the answer. The decision to practice still comes down to individual choice, not that of your friends, they said.
Living in a multi-faith household and having friends outside the faith can also provoke a great awareness of one's own beliefs.
"I love my Mormon friends and I love to go to church and be with them, to be with people who believe what I do," Councill said. "But I also love to come home and see absolute diversity because it just makes me appreciate my beliefs, but it makes me appreciate theirs, too."
Fourth-year College student Lindsay Bunting, who serves as the president of the Latter-day Saints Student Association, lives with another Mormon student and two non-Mormons and said the housemates have cultivated a sense of respect for their differing beliefs.
"It's not a sense of, 'Oh, you're wrong, I'm right.' It's more like everybody does what they feel to be right and follows their own conscience," Bunting said.
When Payne's a capella group, the Sil'hooettes, sang "America the Beautiful" at a recent concert, Payne stepped off the stage before the song because of her belief in political neutrality. While Payne understood the group's desire to sing the patriotic song, members also understood her need to refrain.
"My friends know that I don't judge them for what they do if I choose to do things for myself," she said. "I try to bring that across - that I'm not judging anyone for being different than I am."
Yet beyond their close friends, Muslim, Mormon and Jehovah's Witness students must face the stereotypes associated with their religions.
"I don't think stereotypes have ever been prevalent [at the University], but I think there is enough that's been in the media in the past 10 years that there are general connotations that you have when you think of Muslim, when you think of Arab, when you see hijab," said Khalid, who chose to start wearing a head scarf - the hijab - a year ago.
Councill said one of the most common misconceptions about her religion is that people do not always realize that Mormons are Christians. But that's not the only misunderstanding about her religion.
"There are a lot of misunderstandings about it because people associate it with polygamy or they associate it with the oppression of women," Bunting said. "But when you get to know more about the church and you get to see the people in the church and tons of women leaders, you realize that a lot of it has just been made up or been created."
Sharing beliefs and dispelling judgment and stereotypes can take place on a variety of platforms. Khalid said providing educational and Islam awareness opportunities for the University community, especially this semester, is an important function of the Muslim Students Association.
Informal discussions, answering friends' questions and living as an example of one's faith are also ways of educating members of the University about their religions.
"For the most part I wouldn't say we try to pinpoint stereotypes and correct people," said third-year Commerce student Bobby Jardine, a Mormon. "Our greatest hope, I guess you could say, is that people just kind of observe the way we are, what we do, and see if they can take something from that."
For Jardine, being a Mormon is not a hindrance to living the typical life of a college student. In what others may view as restrictions, such as not drinking, these students find freedom in the standards that they choose to follow and have confidence in their identity.
"I would find it amazingly difficult to go through the whole college experience, and the pressures of life and schoolwork and everything else, without some kind of strong religious beliefs to back you up," Jardine said.
Firm faith serves as a source of strength for those students who find that staying grounded on their religious path guides them in a positive and healthy direction.
"It doesn't bother me that I'm different," Payne said. "I truly believe that I am trying to live the best lifestyle possible"
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