Section 3 | Socials
What better way to kick back and relax, than with your fellow freethinkers? Social events offer group members the opportunity to get to know each other and chat outside the normal structured meeting. Many groups, from the very small to the very large, enjoy informal social gatherings. Social events can be as simple as an occasional evening out, or can become regular events.
Freethinker fellowship over food!
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Run of the Mill
- Go out for food/coffee. Pick a low cost, centrally located place that can handle your group size. Calling ahead never hurts!
- See a play, dance recital, art exposition, poetry reading or other event. Make sure to note if advanced tickets are needed and tell your group ahead of time!
- Movie Marathon. Spend an afternoon or evening at a member’s apartment, or a dorm common area, with your favorite flicks and a supply of popcorn
- See a local band. Check location for under 21 rules
- Throw a party. This might not be an official group-sponsored event but it attracts a different mix of people who may not have been at meetings.
- Speed dating. Many of us want to date people who are also nonbelievers. If your group is biased in one direction (very few girls), this might not work out. Also, if the group is small and everyone already knows each other, it could be kind of awkward, but hey, why not try?
Members of Students For Freethought at Ohio State and University of Cincinnati Skeptics at a joint retreat
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Seasonal Events
- Apple/Fruit Picking. See if any local orchards let you pick your own
- Picnic or BBQ
- Camping Trip
- Beach Party
- Fun with snow, sledding, snowball fights, skiing
- Water balloon fight
- Haunted Houses (what better place for skepticism!)
Speaking of haunted houses, find out if there is a Hellstop or any other variety of Christian haunted house near you. Google for “Hellstop”or “christian haunted houses.” Hellstop is a project by fundamentalist churches. It mimics haunted houses, but takes its visitors on a trip to hell and ends with a strong sell for Christianity as the only way out of this terrible end. Visitors are frequently asked, “If you died tonight, where would you go?” They are extremely emotionally manipulative and it could not hurt them to have a few brave student freethinkers ask them some provocative questions. We are sure you can think of some.
Wishing Darwin a Happy Birthday!
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Freethought Holiday Celebrations
Superstition Bash:
Instructions from Paul Youk of Individuals for Freethought at Kansas State University:
“Superstition Bashes are generally held on Friday the 13th. Essentially, students get together and break widely held superstitions. This is a good way to publicize your group and your anti-superstitious/mystical sentiments in a way that is both light-hearted for the public and fun for you personally.
Break various superstitions:
- Walk under ladders (including "ladder limbo")
- Step on cracks
- Kiss under umbrellas
- Spill salt
- Break a mirror at 13:13 (military time), or between class periods.
- Take pictures of a group of three (the one in the middle is supposed to die first!)
- Giving "psychotic readings" if you have anyone that is satirically and theatrically talented in your organization.
- Passing out ‘misfortunes’ (opposed to the fortunes found in fortune cookies.) such as ‘Ancient Chinese secret: You're screwed.” Google “misfortune cookies” for many more examples.
- Any other superstition you know of that you can break
Road Trips
Taking the Secularmobile out for a spin...
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What’s college without a road trip? From visiting your campus freethought fellows at neighboring campuses, to cultural oddities, to national conferences, there are a million excuses to go on a road trip. There are around ten national freethought organizations that have annual conferences. Some of them offer free admission to students. Some even offer travel grants to students. Odds are your school might offer some travel money as well. Conferences are a fantastic way to get to know other freethinkers from all generations.
Small groups in particular really benefit from some regional networking. Groups could take road trips to nearby campus' events, thus pooling resources instead of trying to hold many of their own events.
There are also occasionally big freethought demonstrations. The biggest one in recent memory (and perhaps ever) was the Godless Americans’ March on Washington, organized by American Atheists. It was in November of 2002 in Washington, D.C. on the mall. It was estimated that as many as 2,000 freethinkers attended. The SSA helps keep all its chapters informed about events like this.
James Madison University Freethinkers pose at the Godless Americans March on Washington
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