Activist Resources

• Campus Publicity Techniques
• Communicating with Decision Makers on Campus
• Educational Tactics
• Engaging the Religious Right
• Event Planning Worksheet
• FAQ's and Fact Sheets
• Leafletting in High Schools
• Organizing a Campaign for Change
• Petition Strategy Guide
• Rallies
• Research
• Working with Legislators
 
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Campus Publicity Techniques

Campus Publicity Techniques

Mounting an effective publicity campaign requires much more than simply printing fliers and sticking them in a corner of the student union. This excerpt from the Center for Campus Organizing student guide deals comprehensively with the "hows" of publicity - namely, how to make sure that your message comes across clearly to a wide range of people.

The full CCO Guide is avilable at Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-49.htm).

Communicating with Decision Makers on Campus

One of the biggest frustrations about being a student activist is that you're unschooled in the ladder of power. Going to talk about an issue with a favorite professor or the university president may be easy or symbolic, but it's not necessarily helpful. Ask yourself: who makes decisions? How can they be contacted? And how can you influence them positively? While your first task is to figure out who has power in a particular issue, moving from that to constructively working with them is sometimes difficult.

Talking to Men In Ties narrates one individual's experience trying to find information and change policies at Earlham College. Although this is a case study, and therefore unique, his frustrations and successes yield some instructive lessons. This was originally found at Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-253.htm).

Another resource for reaching decision-makers is "How Decisions are Made In School" from the SoundOut website (http://www.soundout.org/howdecisions.html). While this is aimed specifically at high school students, it's a great way to start thinking about the way authority is divided within the educational environment. The site also includes a helpful list of tips for student-authority interactions, which can facilitate communication and jumpstart dialogue (http://www.soundout.org/studentadultpartnerships.html).

Don't forget that a school's trustees also have great influence on a school's activities; beyond their direct powers to approve or disapprove of school leadership, their significant financial contributions grant them some power over school policy. This article from the Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/08/13/students_switching_activism_to_boardroom/) details ways student activists are working with trustees to change their schools.

Educational Tactics

Let's face it: education about religious issues, especially when it comes to the nonreligious, is sorely lacking in this country. As a student group, you have access to an audience that is interested in knowing more about the world, and are particularly when it comes to freethought ideas. This packet, an excerpt from the organizing guide put out by the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC), surveys a number of educational methods and ideas to reach on and off-campus audiences.

The full SEAC organizing guide is available at http://seac.org/sog/index.shtml.

Engaging the Religious Right

The Religious Right is a slippery foe! Engaging and besting them, especially in the media arena, is much more difficult than simply quoting Dawkins at them. This tip sheet, prepared by Americans United for Separation of Church & State, will give you some handy tactics and ideas for dealing with the theocrats in your midst.

Event Planning Worksheet

Putting on events can be fun, but it requires intensive forethought. Without a detailed and well-thought-out plan in mind, it's very easy to forget critical details, miss deadlines, and lose track of people and things. This event planning worksheet from the Student Environmental Action Coalition asks a number of pertinent questions about your planning process, reminding you to account for just about everything. This worksheet may be useful for sketching out multiple events in order to determine which is most effective and painless. Feel free to download and modify the worksheet for your particular event or campaign!

Originally found at Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-253.htm). The Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) can be contacted at http://www.seac.org/.

FAQ's and Fact Sheets

If you're going to be countering myths and misconceptions, it helps to know the answers to really dumb questions. However, responding to common questions about state-church separation can be difficult to do in a way that's straightforward, sensible, and respectful. These FAQs and fact sheets from Americans United give you quick, effective answers for both reporters and ordinary people.

• Myths about the Separation of Church & State
• National Day of Prayer Q&A
• Why the Ten Commandments Shouldn't Be in Government Buildings
• Facts about 'Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance
  

Leafletting in High Schools

 

Almost all colleges and universities have easily-accessible guidelines for putting up public notices. However, the guidelines for public high schools are often much harder to find. Additionally, high school administrations have a nasty habit of intimidating free expression of ideas they don't like, whether or not they have reason or the law behind them.

If you're looking to put up fliers for your high school group, you need to know your rights inside the schoolhouse gate. Luckily, the San Diego Campaign to Demilitarize Our Schools has put together a packet of information, tips, ideas, and warnings for high school activists. This will prove helpful to high school students unsure about their rights, as well as some college activists who face administrative opposition.


The packet was originally found at Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-186.htm). The San Diego Campaign to Demilitarize Our Schools can be reached through thier parent organization, the Committee Opposed to Militarism and the Draft (http://comdsd.org/).

Organizing a Campaign for Change

• Issue Selection
• Launching a Campaign
• Strategy Chart
• Tactic Analysis
  

If you want to put together an activist campaign, it's critical to plan thoroughly. Haphazard organization is not only ineffective, but it can even set your cause back! That's the opposite direction you want to go in!

These tools are designed to help you evaluate, coordinate, and execute a plan of action to make change. Don't use these to exclusion or distraction, but they can give you valuable insight into how a campaign can be run effectively.



Issue Selection

When planning your semester, you want to have only one (possibly two) activist campaigns running at a time. But how do you decide? In this excerpt from the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) organizing guide, you can critically examine the issues that you and your members want to work on, and decide which to focus on and which to leave by the wayside. Obviously, the grid isn't infallible; your group may well find some component of an issue compelling, despite its perceived lack in other areas. Additionally, this grid works best for long-term campaign planning and selection - if an issue comes up suddenly, it can change how and if you proceed with a campaign. This excerpt from the SEAC guide (clickable through the fist) explains the hows and whys of the guide, and provides an example worksheet (filled out for an environmental group). Attached below, the .doc file entitled "Issue Selection Grid" is downloadable and modifiable version of the worksheet, which will allow your group to write in and change it for your particular circumstances.

The full SEAC guide is available at http://seac.org/sog/index.shtml.


 



Launching a Campaign

If you want to organize a campaign for change, you really need to think about the components and environment you're working with. But what do "constituency" and "power" mean in an activist context? This packet, excerpted from the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) organizing guide, gives you an idea of what goes into a successful activist campaign, what you need to plan for, and how to make sure that you reach your goals.


The full SEAC guide is available at http://seac.org/sog/index.shtml.


 

 

 

 

Strategy Chart

You've got an issue you want to organize around - great! Now, how are you going to conduct your campaign to effectively, efficiently mobilize resources and make concrete change? This chart from the Midwest Academy forces you to focus on your main tasks: determining your goals and resources, how you can mobilize and employ them, and what targets and pathways you can focus on. You can also see an even more detailed version of this chart as a campaign strategy grid, which asks very detailed questions for advanced, long-term campaign planning.

This chart was found on Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-676.htm). The Midwest Academy can be contacted at http://midwestacademy.com/.


 

Tactic Analysis

Whenever you’re planning a campaign, an event, or an activity, you need to take into account the costs and benefits of the tactics you employ. How much time and energy will it take to write a press release versus an op-ed, and how much impact will it have? The tactic analysis worksheet shouldn’t deter you from any tactic, or steer you into doing one exclusively, it will get you thinking about what you can realistically do, and how useful it is to do it. You can also expand this to minimize the effort that needs to go into one, while maximizing its effect. Try filling it out after an event to gauge its effectiveness, and save both sheets for your records! If you're not sure about how it works, see this short explanatory guide.


This chart was originally found at Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-689.htm). It was originally developed by Shari Silverstein of the Quixote Center (http://quixote.org/).


 

Petition Strategy Guide

 

If there's a burning issue on campus, a petition is often a useful and powerful way to mobilize and show support. However, doing them efficiently and effectively is harder than many people realize. This guide offers a number of important methods that can make your petition drive succesful.

 

Originally found at Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-320.htm).

 

Rallies

If you're going to be an effective activist, the last thing you want is to be ignored, by the public or by those in power. Rallies, though complex and difficult to manage, are a sure-fire consciousness and eyebrow-raiser. This page, excerpted from the Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) organizing guide, gives you some pointers for putting on rallies.

The full SEAC guide is available at http://seac.org/sog/index.shtml.

Research

Authorities and those in positions of influence are always ready to dismiss those who want to change existing institutions. In order to hold their attention and public interest, as well as to fortify the foundations of your position, you need to do research on laws, statutes, court cases, traditions, culture, and other related fields. Other than widespread public support, documented knowledge that you can point to is your bedrock, the ground you can most surely stand on if your opposition attempts to discredit you. This guide to doing research is an excerpt from the Campus Organizing Guide of the Center for Campus Organizing (CCO).

The full CCO guide is available at Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-49.htm). If you're interested in more in-depth, perhaps even covert research into a university, corporation, or church, Campus Activism has longer guides here (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-110.htm) and here (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-46.htm).

Working with Legislators

• Writing Elected Officials
• Calling Legislators
• Meeting with Legislators
  

If there's a legislative issue of importance at the local, state, or federal level, one of the most direct and effective methods for producing change is simply to get in touch with your legislator. Although the halls of government may seem forbidding and off-limits, in reality they're accessible to everybody!  This packet will give you some tips and ideas about approaching elected officials & their staff.

Writing Elected Officials

This doesn't just refer to snail mail, of course - e-mails and faxes can be just as effective, if not more so (due to their faster delivery). This packet, excerpted from Americans United, provides a number of tips on getting your message across clearly and persuasively, as well as a sample letter you can adapt to your situation (http://www.secularstudents.org/files/Writing Your Elected Officials & Sample Letter.pdf). These ideas can be used in your personal activism, and also in the context of a letter-writing campaign!


Calling Legislators

Phone calls to elected officials are a great way to indicate your position on an issue. They greatly magnify the appearance of support for your side - generally, legislative staffers assume that for every call they receive, 20 constituents feel the same way. This packet, excerpted from Americans United, will give you some handy ideas for making quick and effective phone calls (http://www.secularstudents.org/files/Calling Your Legislator.pdf).


Meeting With Legislators

A face-to-face meeting with public officials, also known as lobbying, is only possible when their offices are relatively close by; however, if they have authority in a particular area, are interested in your position, or are even on the fence, a personal visit can be incredibly effective at getting them to fight for your cause. This packet, excerpted from Americans United, gives you a full rundown of what to expect when meeting with public officials (http://www.secularstudents.org/files/Meeting with Elected Officials (Or Their Staff).pdf).

We also have another packet on lobbying, which was originally found at Campusactivism.org (http://www.campusactivism.org/displayresource-127.htm).

Activity Packets

This series of activity packets is designed for several purposes. One of the most important is that (especially new) groups are sometimes intimidated by the task of putting on an event. Flying blind into the intricacies of a soul auction or a protest rally is no fun. These packets try to break down and simplify the steps to activities to make them more manageable, and to give you a better idea of how and what they're doing.


Another use of the activity packets is to clue you into the wide variety of things to do; you don't have to continuously oscillate between speaker, debate, speaker and meeting. While these packets cover some of the most common activities, they really only scratch the surface of what's possible. We highly encourage you to use these activities as branching-off points, as spurs to even more creative and exciting possibilities.

That ties into the final purpose of the activity packets - to facilitiate intergroup, even intergenerational collaboration and sharing. These packets came together from an extensive combing of group websites and news articles, as well as short interviews with a number of group leaders past and present. However, one intern can't possibly get all of the best practices out there, or even all of the relevant information. We really hope that your groups can help others by commenting on these packets, updating and correcting them, and suggesting new ideas.

Meta-Packets

These groupings of packets illustrate how to utilize several activity packets when planning a large event.

Activism Meta-Packet - Demonstrations, Protests, & Lobbying
Service Meta-Packet - Service Project & Collaboration Ideas
Social Events Meta-Packet - Student Group and Community Building
Speakers & Debates Meta-Packet - Resources, Topic Ideas & Planning Checklist


Darwin Day Meta-Packet - Resources, Ideas, Descriptions of Past Events
National Day of Reason Meta-Packet - Resources, Ideas, Descriptions of Past Events



The individual activity packets are listed below:

Activist Training Seminars

Planning Time	2 or 3 months before end of semester
Group Size	20+
Staff #	5-8
Event Date	Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough

 

- Activity Overview: Becoming an effective activist requires a lot of dedication and knowledge. Learning from seasoned advocates for social change not only brings valuable insights to your group’s strategy and tactics, it is inspiring to talk to people who have spent a large part of their lives struggling for the same goals you are. If you can organize an effective training session, you will emerge with more skilled and engaged members, as well as stronger ties to similar groups, and possibly even some publicity.


    However, training can be difficult to coordinate, it may require resources (esp. money) outside of the reach of some groups, and to be most effective it requires participation and interaction between trainer and trainees. Considering the cost and time that goes into planning these, a rule of thumb is to have 60-100 attendees, possibly 200 if it has a broad appeal. Not all of these attendees need be from your group!          

- Planning timeframe:  This depends, of course, on the training organization, but to host a training on your campus you really should plan two or three months before the end of the semester for an event in the following semester. This will give you time to coordinate with the training organizer, to reserve an adequate venue, secure funding (either from your school or from a fundraiser), and to attract sufficient attendees. 

- Coordinating: Getting the logistics straight with the organizer can be hell. Remember, they are doing this with other schools and groups as well, and need to have a clear idea of how and when they are coming to your school. At least one coordinator should be dedicated to working with them. You also need to work with your school to clear the activity (you may need security, but probably not), to get money, to promote the event, and to work with other groups. All of these components need a dedicated coordinator, with one of them or someone else checking in to make sure all runs smoothly. 

- Material requirements: I cannot stress enough the importance of a good venue. If you’re doing an hour-long training for 15 of your members, a classroom will suffice, but a  day-long training with hundreds of attendees requires much more. Some will work best if you can have an auditorium or other large room where an organizer can address the crowd, with five or six nearby rooms for breakout sessions. Since this may mean reserving an entire building, you need to plan far ahead!

              Some trainers will bring binders with materials for attendees. Even so, you need to provide them with notebooks or folders with papers and pens. The room itself may need chairs with desks, as well as a projector or computer monitors – you can work this out with the organizer, and your school’s conference & events office.

              Bigger and longer trainings may lead you to provide food, or just refreshments. Talk to your conference & events office to see if you will need to pay custodial fees, which may also be necessitated by the event itself. 

- Cooperating Organizations: The range of collaborators for a training is surprisingly broad. Activist training offered by progressive organizations is often very helpful, even to groups outside of the trainer’s experience. Talk to activist groups engaged in environmentalism, labor, immigrant rights, civil liberties, political reform and social justice – almost anything that fits under the community organizing umbrella can work! Conversely, when these groups are organizing training, take a look and see if your group could stand to benefit from it. If your campus has an activist resource center, or some other intergroup organization, see what they offer.

              Don’t forget that there are off-campus groups in these areas as well, many of whom would be willing to share resources with students. Local ACLU chapters, as well as groups for many religious minorities (Jews, Wiccans), are interested in church-state issues.

 

Suggested Walkthrough

Note: A very comprehensive guide and checklist for hosting a training is available from Campus Camp Wellstone (http://www.wellstone.org/sites/default/files/downloads/Step-by-Step%20for%20Students.pdf). 

1. The first thing you need to do is research training organizations and programs. We have provided a list below of some possibilities. The first three specialize in secular issues. The rest deal with more general progressive causes and advocacy; nonetheless, what they offer can still be useful to your concerns. Don’t think that hosting a training yourself is necessarily better or worse: critically assess your group’s needs and capacities, and decide what organization offers what you want and how they run their trainings. Always look to see if another group is already doing a training in your area!
1. Americans United for Separation of Church & State (www.au.org) can do individual campus outreach and visits, which can be particularly useful if you’re organizing for a particular issue; however, their training isn’t student-specific.
2. Humanist Institute - information forthcoming
3. Secular Coalition for America doesn't have the resources to do regualr trainings or individual campus visits, but they may be able to arrange something if you can get a hundred or more students together. Contact them at http://www.secular.org/contact.html.
4. Wellstone Action! is a group of organizers who teach advocacy and organization skills to students (http://www.wellstone.org/who-we-train/students). In particular, you’ll be interested in Camp Wellstone, which offers training in grassroots activism and running campaigns. These are held in local areas around the country, meaning that you don’t have to host them; the cost is based on a sliding scale. They also have Campus Camp Wellstone, a training conference which you can host on your campus. These are more complex and costly, but can host 40-60 participants from your group and school.
5. Student Empowerment Training (SET) Project is specifically designed to organize students to use their campus governmental structure for change. They can craft weekend or day-long trainings tailored to issues, campaigns, and skills you want to focus on. Check out their workshop page (http://www.trainings.org/set.asp?id2=16133) to see workshops they offer and to schedule a training.
6. Although the training offered by Democracy for America focuses on organizing for political campaigns, it includes a number of skills you can use on campus, such as communications, online organizing, organization building and issue advocacy. Their Campaign Academies (http://www.democracyforamerica.com/campaignacademy) are offered on weekends around the country, and you can apply to host one in your community. The only cost is a fee paid by attendees – DFA will pay the trainers and for the venue.
7. The United States Student Association has developed a GrassRoots Organizing Weekend (GROW) that can train 20-40 student leaders in organizing methods and skills, both on and off campus. The trainings cost $2,500 - $3,000, but you will receive planning support from USSA (http://www.usstudents.org/our-work/trainings/grows).
8. There are many, many other organizations which work on student activism training; some places to start are suggested by Campus Progress (http://campusprogress.org/issues/1461/activism-links).
2. More important than finding an attractive off-campus group, though, is getting good trainers. Rena Levin (formerly of AU) writes, "Word-of-mouth and/or having actually heard someone speak is the best way to ensure that you get someone who's knowledgeable and engaging.  Do not rely on a person's credentials alone when looking for trainers.  Sometimes impressive resumes are not matched with equally impressive presentation skills."
3. If you find something you’re interested in hosting on campus, contact that organization and see how their training works. Come up with a list of dates that will work for you and the organization. Be sure to ask about costs, venue requirements, and a curriculum for the workshop(s).
4. With this idea for a training in hand, make a committee of coordinators and delegate specific areas and tasks to each (working with the trainer, working with the school, securing a venue, getting funding, and recruiting attendees). Come up with a basic pitch that explains what this training is, why you’re doing it, who it will benefit and specific issues and campaigns it will be used for.

   Money – the lifeblood of capitalist society.  The major way to get some is to ask the finance board of your student union, something that your treasurer should plan for and execute at the appropriate time (early in the semester, or the previous semester). Also think about holding fundraisers, and look to outside sources, such as local freethought groups and SSA grants. More information is available in your Group Running Guide (www.secularstudents.org/node/204).

5. Take this basic pitch to several places simultaneously:
1. Talk to your student activities department and make sure that a training of whatever size will be OK with the school.
2. Go to your university's conference and events department to secure a venue. Have an idea of how much space you’ll need (size and number of rooms), as well as what you’ll need (A/V equipment, space for catering) and where it is; try and come up with a few locations that will work. Look ahead to see what dates you can have those buildings, and that they will work for your trainers. Be sure that nothing loud or busy will be going on at the same time!
3. Talk to your group treasurer to discuss the cost of the event, and how that relates to your group’s funds and other planned events. The cost of a training may force you to scale back on other events, or find alternative sources of funding. Be aware of deadlines to request money from your student government, and apply well in advance to try and get what you can!
4. Go to the leaders of other clubs who might be interested in this training, and see what they can contribute. You may be looking either for a co-sponsor, which will reduce the cost and planning on your part, or for attendees. Think outside the box – Greek organizations, surprisingly enough, may make good partners, as they have their own sources of funding, and can use this to bolster their images.
5. If your training is not strictly devoted to campus activism, go to local non-student freethought and activist groups. They may be able to send attendees, contribute financially, or help secure a venue.
6. Before you schedule the training, check in to make sure all of these elements are in place. If you are lacking any of them (school approval, venue, funding, potential attendees), you will incur huge headaches later on.
7. If everything is in place, proceed…cautiously.
1. Confirm your venue. Check with the organizers about what you will need, and make sure you can have it there.
2. Request funding from your student union or student activities office. Be sure to emphasize the benefits the student body will receive from the training, particularly because multiple groups will be included. You may want to split up the requests between different groups – have your treasurer communicate with other treasurers!
3. Think about providing food or refreshments - your attendees will greatly appreciate it! See what catering services are offered by your school or local restaurants, find out if you can serve it in your venue, and if there will be custodial fees.
   
8. The coordinator’s committee needs to set recruitment goals. You want to get your money’s worth from this training, and that means getting people to come. Each coordinator should be responsible for a certain number of recruits each week – check in every week to make sure they meet their goals.
1. You may want to have registration for the training, particularly if there will be a fee for participants. Advance payment will ensure attendance! Consider using Wufoo.com for this. Attendees can check in at a table outside the venue – a good excuse to display your banner, information, and a sign-up sheet.
9. As you get closer to the time of the event, you’ll need to contact and confirm participants, collect participation fees, confirm food or refreshments, and check the room’s condition (especially tech and A/V hookups).
1. Find out how the wi-fi network functions; at many campuses, non-students may be able to connect.
   
10. After your event, thank your coordinators, volunteers, donors and attendees!
11. Try to accurately and realistically evaluate how things went. What did attendees learn? What skills and concepts were particularly valuable? Was the campus atmosphere positively changed? Have a debriefing call with the training organization to go over this.
12. If the training and the planning for it have created bonds between groups, on or off-campus, run with it! This may well be the beginning of something bigger, such as future events, a political coalition, or a yearly training series.
    

Ask an Atheist Panels

Planning Time	4 to 6 weeks
Group Size	6+
Staff #	3 to 5
Event Date	Anytime




• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough
  




- Activity Overview: We all know that there are more than a few stereotypes floating around about the non-religious – we’re amoral, we’re arrogant nihilists, and we like nothing better than kicking puppies. In order to counter these myths head-on, a number of groups have held “Ask-an-Atheist” panels for audiences to put forth their simple questions and their most misguided imaginings for a (gentle) debunking. This isn’t necessarily a recruiting event; although if you hold this as a sort of ‘coming out’ for your group, it can certainly attract members.

- Planning timeframe:  As mentioned, this can very well at the start of the semester, or just after your group forms. For that reason, this should take only four to six weeks to plan, some of which can be done the previous semester. However, you need to heavily promote this to religious groups, so you’ll want to keep in mind their schedules (including services, holidays, and meetings) when planning.

- Coordinating: You’ll need panelists who can intelligently explain atheism, as well as calmly and inoffensively critique religion. These should be group members, folks from your school, so that the audience knows they are regular people. They shouldn’t only fulfill the stereotypes of atheists! Try and get a diverse array of panelists, both in terms of background and opinion – a trio of white male teens quoting Dawkins will get boring quickly. A forceful moderator who can keep everything flowing smoothly is essential.

              Your promotion needs to be done (at least in part) by someone who can reach out to the religious community. Don’t be afraid to recruit a friendly religious student or chaplain to help!

- Material requirements: All you really need is an auditorium with an A/V system and a whole bunch of chairs. A banner displaying your group’s name on stage will help.  If you choose, provide your audience with note cards and pencils at the start (more on that below).  

Advertising is a critical skill that all groups will need to use at some point. Standard techniques include flyering, tabling, and chalking. More information on these is available in the Group Running Guide (http://www.secularstudents.org/node/183), and we also have specific information on dealing with the media, such as writing press releases and doing interviews (http://www.secularstudents.org/media).

- Cooperating Organizations: Talk to religious groups on campus about promoting the event to their members. Chaplains may be interested enough to attend themselves – just ask! Look for an interfaith organization or center on your campus as well.

 

Suggested Walkthrough

1. Start by identifying possible panelists within your group, and elsewhere on campus. You need diversity, intelligence, and personality on your panel. This includes getting a variety of styles - a brash, tenacious speaker can complement a more moderate, analytic one. This may mean turning away some people (nicely!), but don’t put someone on stage who won’t help your group.
1. If there’s an out atheist amongst your school’s faculty or staff, see if they’d be interested. To take this route, you may need to plan more in advance.
2. Look through your school’s religious calendar, or at the schedules for religious groups and chaplaincies. You need to avoid their meetings, services, holidays, and other events so they can come to yours. Pick a free weekday night.
3. As much as it may hurt to do this, approach the religious. As much as possible, you want them to promote their event for you at their service and meetings – another reason to be cognizant of when they are and plan ahead!
1. When talking to theists, promote this as interfaith dialogue. Highlight the need for religious tolerance for the non-religious.
2. Keep in mind that they are your target audience – they will have the best questions, and likely the most entrenched misconceptions. If your audience is mostly atheists, it won’t function very well.
3. If any chaplains or group leaders are particularly interested, it might be possible to get a question from them and quote it on your fliers.
4. Offer yourselves to other groups - if one group has a particular interest, try and send a few members to their next meeting.
   
4. Advertise to the general public. Be bold and highlight the questions people might have for atheists, especially the misconceived ones. Don't make this strictly a theist-atheist conversation - even people who are not strictly religious will have internalized myths about atheists!
   
5. One possibility is to start with (short) opening statements from your panelists, which can cover their background, how they came to be atheists, and their reasons for rejecting religion. During this time, audience members can write down questions on note cards, from which the moderator can choose. This prevents questions from being asked over and over again, and limits the possibility of interminable audience debate.
   
6. At your event, your moderator will have the most important job. They must ensure that everything flows, no-one talks too long or out of turn, and preventing digressions. Some pro tips:
1. Audience members may want to debate with panelists or each other – don’t let that happen! Make sure they ask questions by keeping a time limit – preferably thirty seconds (moderator may need a stopwatch). Have volunteers hold the microphone, or people won’t shut up!
2. Panelists also have to be kept in line so they don’t talk too long or over each other. Have the moderator emphasize them that there will only be two answers to any question.
3. Tyler Babcock of CFI at Case Western University writes, “Our moderator this year found it helpful to have his laptop with him and an IM session open with members of our organization in the audience. It allowed him to know how things looked from the crowd and helped with spotting people who had questions.”
7. If everything goes well, you will have had an intelligent and mutually respectful discussion, wherein both sides come away knowing more about the other. Huzzah!
8. Afterwards, clean up and pack up. Be sure to thank your volunteers, coordinators, panelists, moderator, and religious leaders who got people to come!
9. This event can easily be repeated. Successive sessions should vary the procedure somewhat - invite other religious groups to bring representatives. We hear that Mormon missionaries are especially game, and generate a lot of questions.
   

Atheist Pride Day

Planning Time	4 to 6 weeks
Group Size	Any
Staff #	All members
Event Date	March 20th / Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Suggested Walkthrough

 

- Activity Overview: On this day (celebrated March 20, 2009), atheists seek to let the world know that we exist. Because we are often demonized and marginalized, in much the same way as sexual minorities, simply asserting our identities as nonbelievers can do much to overturn stereotypes, and help others who privately doubt religion. While the aim is visibility, the number of participants is less critical than is the ability to get people to publicly admit their lack of faith.

- Planning timeframe: Although you want to build up a head of steam and get people excited about this, getting too involved too early can lead to a decline of interest by the time of the holiday. While you’ll want to start planning it four to six weeks in advance, you’ll only want to begin aggressively promoting it one or two weeks ahead.

- Coordinating: This depends on what your group plans for that day. To get people to wear atheist 'scarlet As' and other symbols of non-belief, you’ll need to coordinate an advertising campaign and a way for people to get atheist gear. Promotion can be aggressive or muted – this may depend, for instance, on whether there is an environment of hostility towards nonbelievers in your area. 1 or 2 people can get identifiers for your members and a limited number of other promotional items for non-members. Most importantly, you want as many people as possible openly identifying on pride day – this means going beyond your membership, perhaps even to faculty and staff.

- Material requirements: Buttons, stickers, and other doodads are a great and relatively cheap way to signify. T-shirts are also great, but more expensive. Look at the OUT campaign (www.outcampaign.org) for promotional items and ideas; they may be able to give discounts to student groups.


              You can promote pride day through signs and fliers. If you face a lot of hostility, it may be best to hold off on displaying these until the day of the event, so as not to  make a target of yourself.


 

Suggested Walkthrough

1. Decide amongst your group how aggressively to promote pride day. Again, this depends on the temperament of your group and the attitude towards nonbelievers in your area.
1. Even if you want a loud and proud campaign, intolerance should not be tolerated. Caution your group members against being anti-religious.
   
2. Designate coordinators to order gear for your group. If you think you can sell pride day gear to non-members, you may want to consider a merchandise sale that day (refer to that activity packet).
3. Facebook and other social-networking sites are a great way to promote pride day. In particular, you need to focus on getting people to remember the date, particularly before they leave home for their daily activities. As always, the Group Running Guide has a number of ways to advertise.
4. The day before, make sure all of your members know that pride day is tomorrow. Perhaps you can hand out t-shirts and identifiers then, and hold a sign-making party.  It also gives you a great excuse to table, more information on which is in the Awareness Tabling activity packet.
   
5. On pride day, be out and proud to be reasonable!

Atheists Read Religious Texts for Charity

Planning time	2 to 3 weeks
Group Size	4+
Staff #	2+
Event Date	Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Suggested Walkthrough
  




- Activity Overview: Headlines containing some variation of the above have been appearing on a few campus and local papers lately, getting out a positive freethought message at no cost to us. Events like these are a great example of student groups promoting themselves to the public without being offensive or abrasive. What’s more, they’re a great mini-service project, and a fantastic excuse for awareness tabling.

              This packet mostly covers things specific to this project; other generally advisable practices are available in the service project packet.       

- Planning timeframe:  This doesn’t take too long to set up, but if this will double as a publicity stunt, you’ll want to have a media strategy in place about two or three weeks beforehand.


- Coordinating: Two or three coordinators are needed to schedule readers, take and forward donations, and work with media. You’ll want at minimum two volunteers at the table at any one time, one to read publicly, the other to handle the cashbox.


- Material requirements: Have your usual tabling supplies (banner, flyers, literature) on hand. You’ll also need a cashbox to handle donations, and possibly a receipt book. The religious texts are central to the event, and should represent a variety of faiths and practices – besides the Bible, Tanakh, and Koran, try to get the Bhagavad Gita, the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Dianetics, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and others. Think about creating a handout of titles, to include descriptions and suggested passages. Your university library should have copies of everything you need; for those hard-to-find or -carry books, you may be able to find them online, although reading from a laptop doesn't pack the punch of reading from a book.


Suggested Walkthrough


1. Select a nonreligious charity to make donations to.  We recommend the Foundation Beyond Belief and the organizations they support.
   
1. Figure out how you’ll charge for reading; perhaps it will be by the verse, the page, time, or some other criterion.

   If you’re going to be handling cash, there are some important things to keep in mind. You’ll need a cashbox, which you can borrow from student activities or purchase, as well as someone trustworthy to handle it. Decide beforehand what forms of payment you can take – usually cash, sometimes checks, only rarely credit. Think about using a laptop for people to access PayPal. Customers may ask for a receipt – you can get a receipt book at an office supply store. This can help you inventory so nothing gets lost!

2. Solicit volunteers to read, and schedule them. They should be able and willing to speak publicly. Choose trustworthy people to handle the cashbox. 
3. Draft a press release to give to local and campus media. You’ll want to give this to them about a week before the event – this will give their reporters a notice to cover it, both before and after the event. The SSA has some resources on media relations (www.secularstudents.org/media).
4. Plan to set up your table in a high-traffic area for a few days – the longer you’re there, the more interest will build.
5. Read your texts for charity! Generally, people will come up and request a particular text or passage, but offer people who don’t know what to pick some way of doing so.
1. You may want to skim the passage before reading. Your volunteers may be unwilling to read passages that are intolerant or immoral, or better yet, you may be able to charge extra for those. Whatever your policy, post it beforehand.
6. After your event, thank your volunteers, coordinators, and donors!

Awareness Tabling

Planning Time	2 - 4 weeks
Group Size	1-2+
Staff #	1-3
Event Date	Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Suggested Walkthrough
  

 

- Activity Overview: Although tabling has been mentioned in connection with some events (e.g. student activities fair), there are a wide variety of times when it is useful. Tabling in the weeks before an event can promote it and get people interested in coming. New or expanding groups will want to table in order to attract members with a cold sell – not always effective, but it can steadily raise interest and increase your membership. Since the goal is to attract a large number of eyeballs, and keep many of those eyeballs at attention, prepare to be looked over by a few hundred to several thousand people, depending on the size of your school.

- Planning timeframe:  The more professional-looking you want your table, the more planning needs to go into it, especially if you’re ordering a banner or literature. You’ll also need to contact whoever is in charge of the space you want to table in – if it’s a popular location, you’ll need to get in touch far in advance. That said, getting everything together should take 2 to 4 weeks. Since tabling is most effective at the beginning of the semester, when people are looking for something to do, you may want to get a jump on planning before a semester break.

- Coordinating: There are three key tasks to getting a table ready: reserving a time and location, obtaining tabling materials, and scheduling volunteers. 1 or 2 coordinators should be able to handle this – since it’s a fairly simple activity, it may be a good idea to get a potential leader to spearhead this. 1 to 3 volunteers should always be at the table.

- Material requirements: Obviously, a table is key. Your university will probably be able to provide one, either at the venue itself or somewhere nearby. Banners are highly visible and powerfully get your name out. Tabling literature takes on a variety of forms, and can include fliers, pamphlets, business cards, brochures, and literature from secular organizations. You may want to invest in a plastic stand to hold brochures/fliers, which can save space and make you look more professional. A display board, decorated with photos and information about your group, can work wonders. Don’t forget a clipboard, pens and pre-printed sign-up sheets for people to write down their names and emails!

              Make sure that everything on your table is organized nicely. Your meeting time & location, as well as a facebook page and contact email, should be prominently displayed. Don’t drown the table in materials or words, however; excessive verbiage will probably turn people off.

 

Suggested Walkthrough

1. Within your group, establish a goal for your tabling. If you just want to attract members, you’ll need to table as early in the semester as possible. Sometimes you will want to table in response to recent events, either campus events or larger-scale happenings. In this case, you’ll need to tailor your table to fit the occasion.
2. Solicit volunteers to table. The best times to table are when there is a lot of foot traffic through your part of campus, but, problematically, many of your members may be busy then. Make sure that your tabling times work with volunteers' schedules, and rotate so that members will only spend an hour or two at a time.
3. Contact your student activities department, or whoever is in charge of reserving space. Have a clear idea of what times and dates will work, and look for possible alternatives. For instance, if Wednesdays bring a lot of people on campus, but Fridays don’t, try and secure a Wednesday, even if you have to push the date of tabling back a week.
1. Be sure to table in a high-traffic area – if you’re shunted off into a corner, tabling just won’t work.
2. Tabling is more effective if you do it for consecutive days, rather than in dribs and drabs over a period. Schedule a block of time for a few days running.
4. Get tabling materials. Here are only a few ways to get some:

1. The SSA may be able to provide tabling supplies - email our campus organizer (organizer@secularstudents.org).
   

2. Many freethought organizations will be happy to send you literature at  low or no cost. Contact SSA at least 3 or 4 weeks ahead of time and we can help coordinate this. Give us an idea of what material you need, from what organizations, and how many people you're expecting.
   
3. The SSA can also help you get free business cards for your group (www.secularstudents.org/node/2028).
4. Banners are available at a reasonable price from Halfpricebanners.com .
5. Contact local nonreligious groups and ask if they have anything you can borrow or use.
5. Your display board, as a presentation of what your group is about, needs to be attractive and informative. Make sure it includes your group's meeting time and location, as well as photos of your group doing fun and exciting activities!

   Talking points are a great resource for any media appearance or public event – they help to focus your thinking and clarify your message. Ideally, come up with about three points to emphasize and repeat – you should elaborate on them, but don’t stray from your message! See our message clarification worksheet (www.secularstudents.org/node/2608) for more tips and ideas.

6. Before tabling, make sure all of your volunteers know basic information about your group, and give them tips on how to run the table. Many good ideas are in your Group Running Guide’s section on tabling.  
   
7. Set up your table a little early – if you’re still setting up when people get out of class, they won’t see your message. If you have fliers, stick them up around the area you’re tabling in. This will concentrate, and thus enhance, your message.
8. Table!
9. After you’re done, pack up and clean up. Many tabling supplies (esp. banners and display boards) can be reused, so find a place to store them – your student union may offer storage space for recognized clubs.
10. Be sure to thank your volunteers and coordinators!

Blood Drives

Planning Time	A few months
Group Size	8+
Staff #	4-12
Event Date	Anytime

• Note
• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough
  

Note: The Food & Drug Administration has a policy which prohibits blood donation agencies from accepting blood from "men who have sex with men" (MSM). While ostensibly in place to protect the blood supply from the HIV virus, in all honesty this is a poor criterion, creating a prohibition not on inherent risk factors but on the perception of risk factors associated with a social group. As far as we have been able to determine, the FDA's policy is legal in import, and no blood donation agency in the United States accepts blood from MSM.

    Many affiliates have expressed concerns about this, and have questioned the value of having a blood drive under these conditions. While these concerns are valid, we should stress that this should not be the deciding factor which precludes a group from sponsoring or participating in one. Donated blood literally saves lives, and we suggest that those who oppose the ban focus their efforts on judicial advocacy efforts in that direction.


- Activity Overview: Blood drives are practically a no-lose situation: they give you fantastic publicity, can be held pretty much anywhere on campus, cost you nothing, and the training on how to organize and promote the event is generally provided by the blood donation agency. And of course, you’re saving lives, which is always pretty awesome.

- Planning timeframe:  This varies somewhat by region and by time of the year (apparently, there is some regional variation in most blood drive endeavors, but they are working to standardize practices). Generally, if you want to hold one between fall and spring, you’ll need to start planning a few months in advance, as bookings fill up quickly. This is important if you want your blood drive on the National Day of Reason, freethought’s answer to the National Day of Prayer; both are annually observed on the first Thursday in May. If you’re planning on a blood drive for that day, you’ll want to start planning at the beginning of spring semester, and possibly even earlier. 

    Interestingly, the amount of lead time you need is drastically shorter in the summer – there are far fewer blood drives going on, and many people who would donate are on vacation. If some of your group members are still around over summer, a blood drive can stimulate giving when it is in short supply.

- Coordinating: The Red Cross will provide the medical technicians and equipment. The sponsor has three major tasks: securing a suitable location, publicizing the event, and recruiting and scheduling donors. The number of people will therefore depend on how large you want to the event to be; for a rule of thumb, let’s say 2 to 6 coordinators are sufficient, and perhaps 4 to 12 volunteers. The volunteers will promote the drive, schedule donors, and perform certain designated tasks the day of, such as running the canteen.

- Material requirements: In my conversation with the Red Cross, the major requirement that they had was that there be a space for the drive, with access to a parking lot and some form of climate control. You will need to make advertising materials, but they will provide some – regional practices vary.  Plus, it never hurts to make flyers promoting your group alongside the blood drive. 


- Cooperating Organizations: Check to see if there are other blood drives planned near your intended date to avoid competition. If your group can't put on a blood drive, consider going en masse to one locally.  




Suggested Walkthrough

Note: The Red Cross offers a checklist for sponsoring a drive (www.givelife2.org/sponsor/checklist.asp). America’s Blood Centers has an overview of blood drive coordination (www.mybloodyourblood.org/hs_saving_organize.htm).

1. Select a blood drive coordinator from within your group to contact your local blood donation center. The largest organizations for blood donation are the Red Cross (1-800-GIVE-LIFE or www.givelife2.org/sponsor/), and America’s Blood Centers (1-888-USBLOOD or www.americasblood.org). Your local center will be the one coordinating the drive, so there may be variations in practices; however, what follows is standard procedure. They will set you up with a donor representative, who will guide you through the process.
1. Talk to your donor rep about setting a goal for donations.
2. Ask how many volunteers you’ll need the day of the drive, and in what roles. Schedule group members for these.
2. Discuss with them what a suitable location would require (access to parking lot, temperature control, electrical outlets), and find one or more potential places on campus. Reserve them for the intended dates and times.
3. You’ll need a number of volunteers to solicit donations – the more, the better. Before sending them out, however, you need to educate them about the importance of giving blood, common reasons people give not to donate, and the eligibility requirements for giving blood. Soliciters cannot pressure people into giving blood – remind them that some  of the reasons people choose not to donate are very personal, and that they shouldn’t pry.

   Advertising is a critical skill that all groups will need to use at some point. Standard techniques include flyering, tabling, and chalking. More information on these is available in the Group Running Guide (www.secularstudents.org/node/183), and we also have specific information on dealing with the media, such as writing press releases and doing interviews (www.secularstudents.org/media).

4. Publicize the drive all over campus, and if possible in the surrounding community. Make sure you are reaching beyond the student body!
1. See if you can get a notice for the drive in your school newspaper. Your donation center can provide you with personal stories from people who have received blood.
2. This is a great opportunity to reach out and collaboate with other local freethought groups in your area!  Contact local chapters of the AHA, AAI, AA, CFI or any other local groups that share your worldviews and invite them to send a contingent of donors.  You might also reach out to UU churches or any religious student organizations you have collaborated with in the past. 
   
5. In the month before the drive, your volunteers should talk to people face-to-face about giving blood. Give potential donors pledge cards which they can fill out with phone numbers / emails.
1. Pledge cards do not mean that they are scheduled for an appointment, though. You need to follow-up on pledge cards to make sure they are still interested, and to schedule their appointment.
6. The coordinator should keep a master schedule of donation appointments. This will need to be shared with the donation agency before the drive.
1. In the week before the drive, confirm all donor appointments.
7. In the days before the drive, check that your donor appointments are sufficient to reach your goal. Send out reminders to donors. Make sure that your volunteers will be there at their scheduled times.
8. The day of the blood drive, the donation agency will do most of the work of setting up medical equipment and processing donors. However, there are some important things you need to prepare:
1. Ask your donor rep how much parking they will need. Early on the day of the blood drive, block off parking spots near the entrance to the location.
2. Post directional signs and arrows clearly indicating the way to the drive. These should be visible to people who are coming from any entrance to campus (or any location).
3. Your coordinator should go over the schedule with the agency staff. Provide them with the contact info of a few coordinators.
4. Place tables and chairs outside of the location for sign-in.
5. All over campus, post reminders that the drive is today. If donors miss their scheduled appointments, contact them and see if they can still make it.
6. If you’re planning another blood drive, prominently post the date where donors can see it.
9. After the drive, thank donors, volunteers, and coordinators!
1. Post the results on campus – contact your school paper.
2. If things went well, consider planning for another drive.

Camp Quest

Planning Time	Early in the Spring
Group Size	Any
Staff #	Any
Event Date	Summer (one week)

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough
• Important!
  

- Activity Overview: Over the summer break, your group is likely to have little to do – there’s not much going on at campus, and your members may be physically dispersed. A great way to help the freethought community and build camaraderie in that time is to apply as counselors to Camp Quest, a network of camps for freethinking youth around the country. The camps host kids aged 8 to 17, and in general college-age volunteers are housed two to a cabin with eight of the younger children. Find more info about the camp locations and applications at http://camp-quest.org/.

- Planning timeframe:  The camps are a week each over summer break. Applications to be a counselor should be submitted as early as possible in the spring, probably by March. If you’re late, submit anyway – some sites may need to fill in personnel.

- Coordinating: This can be done by as many people in your group as you like. Since applications are submitted individually, coordination mostly amounts to getting people to apply. Since most camps have between 10 and 20 counselors, you might not all go to the same camp – which is not a bad thing, since you can meet other freethinking people!

- Material requirements: Board and bed are provided to counselors at no cost, but they are expected to bring their own camping supplies. This includes a sleeping bag, bug spray, bathing suit, and things usually subsumed in the category of camping gear.

    Note: Campers are not allowed to bring technologies that connect to the outside world, such as laptops and cellphones. Counselors are allowed to bring these items, but can only use them within staff-only areas. If this limitation is uncomfortable, you should not apply as a counselor!

- Cooperating Organizations: If your campus group isn’t interested, feel free to reach out to local freethought groups. Even if there's only one person in your group who wants to do it, they are absolutely welcome to apply!




Suggested Walkthrough

1. The first thing you need to do is drum up interest with your group members. Emphasize how this is a way to give back to the freethought community and come closer together as a group – not to mention a way to engage in fun camp activities for free!
1. Camp Quest brochures are available for prospective counselors; contact Amanda Metskas: amanda [AT] camp-quest [DOT] org.
2. Keep in mind, though, that camps are in rustic areas – people with a fear of bugs or the dark should not apply.
2. Those interested need to apply individually, and will be subject to criminal background checks. Currently, applications have to be done at each camp’s website individually, but by 2010 they should be combined into a common application.

Before your group can go places, you need to plan transportation. Carpooling is environmentally-friendly, and can be funded by your university. Make sure you have enough drivers to take everybody, and determine alternates in case some drop out. If you’re going on a longer trip, find people within the group who can sub in for an hour or more. Check with your school to see if they have vans you can use.

1. In new counselors, CQ looks for experience with kids and in the freethought community – your campus group counts! They also look for counselors with a range of hobbies and interests that would make good activities – this can be anything, such as drama and improv games, juggling, science experiments, nature hikes, or something else. Be creative in your application.
1. If you’re accepted, most counselors will go through a training phone call or two. If you’ve indicated that you can design or guide an activity, this will also involve a phone call with the site director.
2. Transportation to the sites is up to the individual counselor. They can drive, or if taking a plane can be picked up (but be sure to let your director know what flight you are taking!).
3. While at camp, have fun and keep your kids safe! You are highly encouraged to make this a regular activity, either as a group or individually.

Important! Although this has focused on CQ’s summer camps, starting in December 2009 there will be a winter camp in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida! This can be a great activity for the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Contact Elizabeth Spike for more information: elizabeth [DOT] spike [AT] comcast [DOT] net.

Commencement Prayer Protests: A Case Study Analysis

• Where To Go For Help
• University of Maryland (MD)
  
• Saddleback College (CA)
  
• Southeastern High School (OH)
  


Recently, a number of student groups have sought to overturn religious invocations at graduation ceremonies. While they have met with mixed success, there are a number of advantages to attempting it: it's a fairly visible way to oppose religious privilege in public life, it attracts media attention on and off campus, and one can find a broad range of support for it in the community (albeit mixed with some hostility).

This guide presents a few case studies of attempts to remove commencement prayers, with an explication of the methods used, the results obtained, and the lessons learned. If you want to do something similar at your school, here are a few places you can go to for help and advice:


• American Civil Liberties Union (http://aclu.org)
• Americans United for Seperation of Church & State (http://au.org)
• Freedom from Religion Foundation (http://ffrf.org)
• (and of course) Secular Student Alliance! (http://secularstudents.org)
 
University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland)

What Happened?: A measure to remove prayer from commencement was researched and discussed by the student senate for three years before being passed in 2009 by a margin of 42-14 (including unanimous support from student senators). However, University President Dan Mote decided to overrule the Senate's decision; although he didn't mandate prayers, he prevented the Senate from eliminating them. He cited a number of calls and emails he received asking for reinstatement, and further claimed that the margin of the vote was too narrow to overturn a long-standing tradition.

Critics of Mote claimed that the pressure largely came from outside, whereas most of the student body supported the decision to remove prayer. They further noted that the President's decision was likely motivated by a desire to bolster the University's image in the wake of a controversial Senate decision to host a pornographic film on campus. Two student senators planned a rally to protest the veto, which would feature 150-300 students wearing white t-shirts indicating their personal (non-)religious beliefs. They also planned to have attendees sign a large scroll asking for the prayer to be removed. However, the protest was canceled due to inclement weather; the graduation prayer was written jointly by the school's chaplains to be as inclusive as possible.

How Did They Do It?: The resolution before the Senate had been a long time coming, and was debated on campus long before coming to a vote. The protest rally was organized through a Facebook group.

What Arguments Were Used?: None of UMD's peer institutions had a commencement prayer; a moment of silence would be more inclusive and serve the same solemnizing function; even non-denominational prayer feels Christian to those in a Christian-dominated society; removing prayer does not denigrate religion; although the delivery of the prayer rotated amongst chaplains, there was never an opportunity to represent a secular humanist or atheistic point of view; prayer brought an unnecessarily solemn tone to what should have been a celebration.

Moral: Although the prayer remained intact, one can't really blame the students for not trying. They clearly had support from a large section of campus, especially the student body. Their significant opposition came from some of the faculty, as well as off-campus pressure. These groups were able to get the President to reverse the Senate's decision by flooding his office with phone calls and e-mails.



Clearly, then. the lesson is that one can't rest on one's laurels - momentary gains need to be solidified. Even before the vote to remove the invocation, the very idea of it was made more controversial because of a previous campus controversy. In such an environment, students need to be aware that administrators and outsiders will be much more sensitive to their efforts, and more resistant to change. The Senate vote should have been followed by a major effort to keep the new policy intact, before it could be vetoed, an effort which could have included petitions, letter-writing, or phonebanking. The organizers of the demonstration were certainly cognizant of their predicament; knowing how difficult it would be to get the President to change his mind (again), and trying to avoid the label of 'jesus-hating liberals' that the media wanted to pin on them, they tried to put on a diversity rally rather than an angry or aggressive protest.

What makes this case a little unusual is that the target of the campaign shifted halfway through. Although it was initially very useful and totally justified to pass this through the Senate, the President's consideration of a veto should have made him the target for the campaign; indeed, the campaign to keep the prayer only became significant when it passed to the President, who became their target. Again, though, this was a fairly unprecedented move by the President, and not something the activists would have likely anticipated.

 

Saddleback College (Mission Viejo, California)

What Happened?: Ashley Mockett decided to start a Free-Thinker's club at Saddleback after witnessing a religious tirade from a school board member at a scholarship dinner. She found that, although Prof. Karla Westphal had gotten the Associated Student Government, the Academic Senate (faculty at Saddleback), and the Statewide Academic Senate to recommend a moment of silence instead of a commencement prayer, the school board decided to ignore them. Westphal eventually was able to get Americans United to write the board a letter explaining the prayer's unconstitutionality, which was also ignored, and in fact led to the tirade Mockett witnessed. This diatribe led many donors to transfer their donations from the school to other student funds.

In the face of a legal challenge, the school board chose to hire a lawyer. Before voting to hire counsel, Mockett and Westphal spoke before the board and urged them to simply replace the prayer with a moment of silence; they voted to hire a lawyer anyway. Buoyed by widespread campus support, the student government passed a resolution placing it in charge of planning the scholarship ceremony, opposing the religious invocationa and promoting the alternative of a moment of silence.

How Did They Do It?: Putting the issue before student government and related academic bodies built support, and put the school board on the defensive. Although they were unable to stop the school board from hiring counsel, getting the AU to send a letter prevented the board from claiming ignorance.

What Arguments Were Used?: Donors who value the seperation of state and church will withdraw support if a religious invocation is in place; a moment of silence is an acceptable alternative; hiring legal counsel to research this issue is costly and distracting.

Moral: Having widespread support, and little organized opposition (outside of the school board), clearly helped a lot. The student government's vote to take over the scholarship ceremony quickly and easily wrapped up the debate, preventing the administration from backpedaling (see above) or wiggling around the rules (see below). Furthermore, this campaign, in a climate slanted against an unpopular school board, really drew attention to the nonreligious community's interests and bolstered its chances of success.


 

Southeastern High School (Chillicote, Ohio)

What Happened?: Jacob Davis, a Wiccan, found the religious invocation offered at graduation every year was divisive and unnecessary. After starting a petition and writing a letter to the editor, Jacob met with his principal, who explained that keeping the prayer was something the community supported. Jacob's letter recieved a lot of online attention, and he was directed by one commentator to the Circle Sanctuary (a pagan civil rights group), who directed him to Americans United.

After the school recieved a letter from AU, the school superintendent canceled clergy-led prayers at commencement. Instead, two students were selected to give opening and closing remarks. Both students (who happened to be the children of school board members) used the opportunity to lead prayers.

How Did He Do It?: Jacob began by circulating a petition in his social studies class, and ultimately obtained signatures from more than half of the senior class. He then wrote his letter to the editor, and used that and the petition to present his case to school administration. The letter from AU took the matter out of the principal's hands; from there, the school board decided to cancel the invocation.

What Arguments Were Used?: The Supreme Court's 1992 decision in Lee v. Weisman precludes public schools from leading public prayers at graduation; a majority of seniors opposed the invocation.

Moral: True, this case happened at a high school, and thus the legal issues involved are different than they are for college students. Nonetheless, there are some critical thigns to take away from this.

Clearly, Jacob prepared his campaign well. Leveraging both the petition and the letter to the editor at the meeting with his principal was a great move, as the administration was forced to acknowledge the issue and could not brush it off. The letter from AU worked to a degree; while it made the school board cancel the invocation, it pushed the issue into the hands of the school district, beyond Jacob's range of influence. The school board's solution looked like a compromise, and thus had Jacob detected the clear subterfuge in their strategy he would have found it more difficult to  build support outside of his high school.

As in the University of Maryland case, then, a campaign needs to keep the pressure on, even if victory seems assured. The student-led prayers were almost certainly unconstitutional; even if they weren't encouraged to lead them by school officials (which is doubtful), the school officials were negligent in their duty to prevent religion from being foisted upon the audience. Luckily, it looks as if Jacob will be working with the school board to amend their practices.

Cooperating with Religious Groups & Other Ideological Incompatibles

• Approach
• Gettin' Along
• Sharing Responsibility & Credit
• Dealing with Potential Conflicts
• Regular Collaboration
  
There are a number of activities on which you’ll want to cooperate with religious or other non-aligned groups. It’s challenging enough to work with other groups who are generally allied with you; working with “the other side” brings unique problems and misconceptions to the fore. For this reason, consider some ideas for working with religious groups on campus:
Approach
• Figure out your purpose in working with them. Is this for service, discussion, understanding, or even just for variety?
  
• Don't have plans to (de)convert the other side. Don't expect to change lives.
• Try to begin through a personal connection - speak to a friend or friend of a friend in the other group, someone who can vouch for your trustworthiness. You can also approach them in person at an activities fair or other event. Cold emails may work, but are less personable.
  
• Come at them as an ambassador, with an open mind. Focus on the positive reasons for working together, and let them (honestly) know what your positions are.
• Keep in mind that not all groups are approachable. Don't let this discourage you from others!
  
Gettin' Along
• Find common ground on which to collaborate. A sit-down meeting with members of both sides may help foster this. From this discussion, create a list of things to work on together. Along with this, let them know why you're doing this; this will clear the air and get everyone's priorities in line.
• How is as important as why - if you want to have a shocking or combative debate, and they think it will be friendly, that disconnect can lead to confusion and anger later on.
  
• Your biggest initial challenge will be hesitance from both sides. If things are working, the inter-group dynamic will shift as you work together. Get things moving by attending each other's meetings, as well as arranging pre-event get-togethers at planning meetings and social events.
• There are some activities which make for great collaboration. Generally, these are events which either depend on the contrast between your positions (debates, interfaith discussions), or which focus on your common goals in spite of your differences (service projects, religious tolerance panels, peace protests, actions on religious freedom and separation of church & state).
  
• One unusual but effective activity is atheist bible study, where people from both sides read and examine bible passages.
  
• Never mock or make personal judgements about those you disagree with; you can make your points respectfully and dispassionately.
Sharing Responsibility & Credit

• Try to split tasks and work down the middle, within reason and each group's capabilities (i.e., don't expect a small group to contribute more members or funds than they have).
  
• On the other hand, there are other situations where responsibilities need to be divided based on other criteria. The group that comes first with the idea may pay more to get a speaker and rent the hall, with the other group working more on promotion and advertising.
• At the event itself, make sure all groups are in the spotlight - after all, that's why they want to cooperate! This can mean sharing a table outside the event, as well as sharing or splitting introductions.
  
• Be sure to thank people from both groups publicly before major events or speakers.
Dealing with Potential Conflicts
• A good leader should identify conflict early, and head it off where possible.The best way to avoid conflict is open communication and sharing of knowledge. If you're making a poster or flyer, let them see it and comment on it before printing hundreds of copies.
  
• If members of the other group are hostile, but realize that you can't do much about them unless their behavior is outright illegal. Rely on their leaders and other members to self-discipline, but be honest if you feel unwelcome or discriminated against.
• Within your own group, there may well be opposition and uncooperativeness. Some of this may be  inescapable. Nonetheless, motivate your members by emphasizing the benefits of interaction, such as improved image, or accomplishment of particular goals.
• If someone within your group is disruptive, they don't have to participate. As a leader, don't be reticent to stick up for the "other side" where necessary; this may mean making one of your members to apologize to someone they've offended.
• Keep in mind what your group's priorities and needs are; if collaboration isn't working because of misaligned or conflicting priorities, there may be another group that will work.
  
Regular Collaborations

• Good interactions lead to good interactions. Don't necessarily go into it with the intention of building coalitions, but small relationships can grow!
  
• Meet the new leaders of the other group before the year is up, and give them your contact info. Try to maintain relationships with the officers of the other group from year to year.

Demonstrations & Protests

Demonstrations & Protests

Or, Not-so-Nice Ways to Make Change

 
"Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict." - Saul Alinsky

• Protest Marching & Picketing
• Sit-In
• Teach-In
• Soapboxing
• Vigil
• Banner Drop
• Balancing Something Bad with Something Good
  
Society, unfortunately, has an indulgent attitude towards the unreasonable. Encouraging religious bigotry, discrimination against nonbelievers, and promoting harmful pseudoscience, even when not supported by the mainstream, are rarely criticized the way they should be. One of the great things your group can do is show your communities the absurd, dangerous thinking in their midst. There’s almost no limit to what you can stand up and shout about! This list is intended to get you thinking about what needs to change in our society, and how nonbelievers can emphasize and work towards those changes. You should also subscribe to the Secular Coalition's action alerts (www.secular.org/activism). This system will notify you by e-mail to contact legislators on key votes, and also has a handy scorecard of Congressional votes on secular issues.
For more ideas, activities, and pointers, take a look at SSA's archive of activist resources (www.secularstudents.org/node/2575).

Note: Many campuses require prior notice and approval for demonstrations, and restrict the place, time, and manner that they can be conducted in - which would seem to go against the whole free-speech thing, but, oh well. Look at your school's policies before planning something, and consider alternative ways of promoting your message. Concerns about unduly restrictive policies can be referred to the American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org), the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (thefire.org), and, of course, Secular Student Alliance (organizer@secularstudents.org).
 
Protest Methods
• Protest marching & picketing
• Both of these forms of protest refer to nonviolent demonstrations which mass people in a particular area; marches proceed from one place to another, whereas pickets remain in one area. Generally these feature signs, banners, songs and chants, and other ways that draw attention to one's cause.
  
• Sit-in
• This has many variations, including the bed-in, but essentially refers to nonviolent occupation of an area. Ideally, the area you choose should be symbolic and highly visible. However, don’t make your presence disruptive – blocking the entrance to the administrative office is more likely to get you arrested than noticed.
• Teach-in
• Unlike a seminar or lecture, teach-ins are explicitly geared to activating people around issues. Unlike a regular lecture, they are designed to be very interactive, and include the opportunity to take action right then and there (e.g. through a petition or letter-writing campaign). See if a professor or distinguished community member is interested in speaking on campus in a public and visible space. Your event can also include music, art, and free-form discussion.
• A fairly useful guide to putting on a teach is available from Amnesty Internationa: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-activist-toolkit/plan-events-and-activities/how-to-hold-a-teach-in/page.do?id=1101326. Some resources and useful information on running a teach-in are available at http://www.nationalteachin.org; while that site focuses on global warming issues, the model teach-in can be easily adapted to revolve around freethought and state-church issues.
  
• Soapboxing
• Refers to any impromptu public speaking to raise awareness and passion about a topic of social importance. If done in a bold, striking, and attention-grabbing manner, it can very effectively rally support for a cause. See if your university has an area dedicated to free public speech, or see about designating such an area.
• Attempts to shut down soapboxers have generally expanded into much larger protests for free speech, and can draw  wider public attention to your cause. The Free Speech Movement of the 1960s began as a protest for the right to soapbox at UC Berkeley.
• Vigil
• Not just for theists! A vigil is a great way to commemorate and draw attention to a very serious incident; it can either be silent, or it can include statements from the participants (such as reading a list of names). It can be a great opportunity to include diverse communities, even faith-based groups. More ideas and information on vigils can be found at http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-activist-toolkit/plan-events-and-activities/how-to-hold-a-vigil/page.do?id=1101328.
• Banner Drop
• About as simple as it sounds – drop a banner from a high place. Generally this is a very eye-catching, particularly if the location is symbolic, so it’s very good for announcing a provocative new campaign. Campus and local media may be interested, so try and contact them beforehand. This may get you in trouble, though, so be careful!
• Balancing something bad with something positive
• Perhaps the most direct way to combat ugliness in the world. For instance, holding a blood drive on the National Day of Prayer highlights the uselessness of talking to imaginary friends. Distributing condoms outside a purity ball promotes safe sex, and confronts the controlling attitude towards teenage sexuality that such events rely on.

Fiction for Fiction

Planning Time	3 to 4 weeks
Group Size	6+
Staff #	2-3
Event Date	Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Suggested Walkthrough
  

- Activity Overview: Religious believers rarely approach their sacred texts with a skeptical or critical eye. Atheists and humanists are often more willing to read between the lines, to the point where many know these books better than true believers!

    A great way to encourage religious skepticism, as well as raise your group's profile, is a "fiction for fiction" event, where your group offers to trade others' religious books for cheap paperback books. The mild provocation of the event should raise eyebrows, but not pitchforks, and will highlight your group's irreverence and light-hearted attitude.

    A variant of this is the "smut for smut", wherein people can trade religious texts for pornography. While basically the same in execution, it is much more inflammatory and can well turn people off. For this reason, we strongly recommend the first version.         

- Planning Timeframe: What makes this event particularly useful is that it can be held pretty much anytime; if, say, something else you had planned fell through, this can be easily set up so you don’t have a gaping hole in your calendar. That said, planning three to four weeks in advance is recommended.


- Coordinating: What you need to coordinate to make this successful is getting your trading material, a publicity campaign, and a volunteer schedule. These can be done simultaneously by two or three coordinators.


- Material requirements: Obviously, you’ll need to get fiction or smut, but more on that later. You’ll need a table to trade over, banners or signs both for your group and the activity. Promotion will require some fliers around campus, and possibly sidewalk chalk. Absolutely don’t forget clipboard, pens, and pre-printed sign-up sheets for people to write their names and emails!

 

Suggested Walkthrough


1. After deciding to do this, your choice of date should hinge on your ability to get a table in a high traffic area, as well as two volunteers at the table at a time for two or three days. It’s suggested that you stretch the event for a few days to build up interest and get people to come. Weekdays are probably best – work within class schedules!
2. There are a several different ways to get a bunch of fiction books cheaply – don’t splurge! As a rule of thumb, don’t get heavily damaged or reference books – while these are cheap and easily available, nobody really wants one. These sources may have cheap pornography as well, if you really want to ask.
1. Most public libraries sell off old, used books. Sometimes they do this biannually, but others just have a display in the front. This is very inexpensive, and gives money to an important cause.
2. Have members contribute books they no longer want.
3. Look for garage sales in your area.
3. About a week before the event, start promoting it. In addition to all of the advertising techniques mentioned in your Group Running Guide, I will especially recommend a press release for local and campus media.
   
4. A few days before, confirm your volunteer schedule. Make sure your volunteers know what to do, in particular how to explain the event in a positive way to passerby.
1. You might want to provide your volunteers with a list of religious texts, both so that they can recognize what they’re getting, and also to give examples to people who ask. Take an expansive view of what counts – some tables have received copies of the Bhagavad Gita, the I-Ching, and the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The point isn’t to mock any religion in particular, but to question all sacred texts!
2. Your volunteers shouldn’t fear hostility. If they can make the event positive, they’ve done well. If passersby get angry and won’t listen, there’s no need to engage them further – and they may well attract more people!
5. Also a few days before, have a sign-making party. They should clearly indicate that you can trade in religious books for fiction – don’t assume that they will get it from the name! Remember, your signs should have positive messages, such as “Question everything you read”, not “religion is for the brain-damaged”.
1. The Skeptic's Annotated Bible (skepticsannotatedbible.com) is a great resource for those who want to look into sacred texts more critically.
   
6. Set up your table in a high-traffic area outdoors. Don’t be discouraged if you’re not doing blockbuster business – after all, the point isn’t to trade the most books, but to raise your group’s profile. In fact, a lot of people who would trade in books don’t have them. Encourage these people to come talk anyway, and sign up!
1. Your group can also 'reverse trade', where people trade a fiction text for a religious one. The point, again, is just to get people interested.
   
7. After you’ve table for a few days, pack up and clean up your area. Thank your volunteers and coordinators!
8. What you do with the books is up to you. Some groups have a library and will keep them there. Others will give them to their local Unitarian church, or another allied group. Jennifer McCreight of Purdue cautions: “Just make sure you don't burn them or throw them away. Or at the very least, don't promote the fact that they're going into the recycling bin... That's a sure fire way to unnecessarily offend people.”

Field Trips

• In General
• Places to Go
  
Ah, the open road – if you listen to the martini-sipping intelligentsia, they’ll tell you that it’s the quintessential symbol of American literature. Whether or not you agree with them, there’s no denying that taking your group on a journey can be equal parts adventure, education, and bonding experience. It can also function as a unique recruiting tool – let potential members come with, and a video or blog post about it will make a great advertisement.
The possibilities for a trip, locally, regionally, and nationally, are endless. Because some of these are discussed elsewhere, and because each trip will be different, we’ll simply list some destinations and ideas.
 
In General
              Transportation will be one of your major coordinating tasks, as well as lodging for overnight trips. For companions or funding, look beyond student groups to university departments or off-campus organizations. Always remember to bring a camera or video recorder so you can provide evidence of your travels. To maximize the publicity value of your trip, be sure to write an article or press release about the experience.


Places to Go
• Educational
• Museums and planetariums with exhibits on biology, astronomy, physics, earth science and history. A few groups have visited the Creation Museum, a monument to irrationality in Kentucky. However, we do not recommend giving money to anti-science organizations; to get the experience, watch SAIU’s video of their trip (www.vimeo.com/2479296).
• Fossil hunting is available almost anywhere! Some resources can be found at http://members.fortunecity.com/michaelp2/MichaelP.html.
• If you’re not hosting your own SkeptiCamp, there may be one going on in your state (www.sketpicamp.org).
• Some churches and Christian organizations run Hell Houses, dramatic walkthroughs that stress the punishments that await sinners. These displays of graphic violence, sexual innuendo, and unrepentant misogyny and homophobia are calculated to save souls; not for the squeamish or easily offended. More information is at www.judgementhouse.org and www.liberty.edu/scaremare, as well as anywhere theocracy is sold.
  
• Community & Activism
• Local skeptic, atheist, and humanist meetings.
• Look for protests being put on by allied groups for secular causes. One of the biggest was the Godless Americans’ March on Washington in 2002, which brought thousands of freethinkers to the nation’s capital.
• Showing up at trials involving church-state issues can be a great way to support the cause, as well as fascinating to watch.
• Service
• Clean up a polluted riverfront or park.
• Some groups have made an annual visit to rebuild houses in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity.
• Volunteer at a summer camp for freethinking youth such as CampQuest.

Flying Spaghetti Monster Dinner

Planning time	6 to 8 weeks
Group Size	15+
Staff #	6-10
Event Date	September 19th (suggested)

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Really Important Note!
  
• Suggested Walkthrough
  

 

- Activity Overview: While this is a fundraiser, it is also a social event (a fun-raiser!), one that should include a lot of non-members. This is an ideal way to introduce interested outsiders to your group, as well as to increase your profile on campus.


    The way you plan this event will depend largely on whether you make the food yourself, or whether you purchase it. While we suggest the latter, both are perfectly doable. Whicever path you take, the number of people you host will depend on the amount of food available; ideally, you should have between twenty-five to one hundred paying attendees. 

- Planning timeframe:  Actually making or buying the food can be done a few days before the event – it can be helpful if you cook the food beforehand, and warm it before serving. However, in order to reserve space, advertise, and be sure what you’re doing is legal, you’ll want to start planning 6 to 8 weeks in advance.

- Coordinating: The main tasks for planning the event are securing the venue, working with the university on health requirements, advertising, cooking, and taking in money; this will probably require 3 to 6 coordinators, and more for really large events. You will need volunteers to advertise and make and serve food, which will probably require 5 to 12 volunteers – coordinators who have concentrated on pre-event planning should double as event volunteers, of course.

- Material requirements: A critical limiting factor on this event is finding a venue, one with both kitchen access AND tables to eat at. Dorm cafeterias might work, but they might also not let students "behind the counter." Churches often have setups like this, and sometimes Moose Lodges or Rotary Clubs might as well. Look around your community and find an appropriate venue - this is a little more tricky than bringing someone's microwave to a meeting room.

                As mentioned, you can either make or buy food. A rule of thumb is to assume 2–3 people per lb. of dry spaghetti, and 3-4 people per lb. of sauce. Dry pasta is available in large lots for as little as 29¢/lb.Tomato sauce comes in industrial-sized cans for relatively cheap amounts. You may want to substitute or supplement this with sauces prepared by your members. This can yield greater variety, and allows you to have a sauce competition! (This can be a great draw for off-campus people). However, unless many members can contribute a lot of homemade sauce, you’ll want to buy some. Make sure that you don't just have meat sauce!

                Besides food, you’ll need at least two tables on which to serve the food, and a cashbox to collect money. Paper plates are too weak to (reliably) hold spaghetti. Look for durable disposable plates (Chinet, for instance), and plastic forks. If you’re serving drinks, get plastic cups as well. If the venue doesn't have them already, make sure that there are tables and chairs for people to eat at.

- Cooperating Organizations: You can run this as a fundraiser for your group alone, or to support a charity (such as a vaccination drive). For more information on that, see our Charities and Service Project activity packets.

 

Really Important Note!: We can't emphasize enough how important it is to make sure that your event is in compliance with health codes and university policies. When you're serving food to large numbers of people, the dangers of contamination are multiplied. Know what you're doing and keep everything clean!


 

Suggested Walkthrough

1. Determine within your group who will coordinate the event, solicit volunteers, and select a beneficiary of the fundraiser (your group or somebody else). Find a place on campus where you can reheat and serve food; if the dinner is connected to another event (e.g. soul auction), make sure the venue can accommodate everything.
2. Before going ahead, designate someone to check with the university that this dinner is in accordance with university and local guidelines, especially health codes. If they have any concerns, you should address them first – they will not hesitate to shut you down!
1. Eating usually requires cleanup afterwards, so discuss charges for custodial services with the university.
2. In some states, there is a "church potluck" exemption which covers these types of events. Ironic as it may be, this may get you out of stringent health requirements.
   
3. Assuming all issues are worked out with the university, determine where and how you will get food (see above). Although prices can change, having a rough idea of the costs gives you a place to start. Look for discounts, and negotiate when possible.

   Advertising is a critical skill that all groups will need to use at some point. Standard techniques include flyering, tabling, and chalking. More information on these is available in the Group Running Guide (www.secularstudents.org/node/183), and we also have specific information on dealing with the media, such as writing press releases and doing interviews (www.secularstudents.org/media).

4. Promoting the event is crucial, since the number of people who come will make the difference between making and losing money. In particular, you’ll want to send a press release (more info at http://www.secularstudents.org/media) to campus and local media well ahead of time. SSA’s Group Running Guide has a number of tips and ideas about advertising.
1. A ton of FSM art and media is available at the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (http://www.venganza.org/), including a wide variety of pareidolia vaguely resembling Him.
5. Depending on whether you make your own food, or get it elsewhere:
   
1. A day or two before your event, make the food. Coordinate transportation from kitchens to the venue – nobody should have to walk across campus with a big pot of sauce.
2. If you don't want to make the food yourself, you should place your order at least one or two weeks in advance. Local Italian eateries are an option; also talk to your school's food service department, which may be able to help cater.
   
6. Before the event, set up your tables and eating accoutrements. If you’re setting up chairs/tables for people to sit at, do so now.
1. Since the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s chosen outfit is full pirate regalia, feel free to decorate the venue with a pirate theme. A wide range of materials is available at the Church of the FSM's website (www.venganza.org/materials). Volunteers can also wear pirate clothing, although this may be problematic for people serving food.
   
2. Make sure that there are trash cans and recycling bins available!
7. At the event, you’ll want 1 person heating the food, 1 person bringing food to the tables, 2 or 3 people serving, and 1 or 2 people overlooking – they are there to make sure things are running smoothly, and able to jump in if someone needs a break. These numbers, particularly the servers, are adjustable, especially depending on the size of the crowd and the variety of pasta and sauce being served. You’ll also need 1 trustworthy person at the cashbox.

   If you’re going to be handling cash, there are some important things to keep in mind. You’ll need a cashbox, which you can borrow from student activities or purchase, as well as someone trustworthy to handle it. Decide beforehand what forms of payment you can take – usually cash, sometimes checks, only rarely credit. Think about using a laptop for people to access PayPal. Customers may ask for a receipt – you can get a receipt book at an office supply store. This can help you inventory so nothing gets lost!

1. Minnesota Atheists charges $6.66 for their FSM dinners – which, besides fitting in with the theme, encourages many people to pay $10 and donate the change.
2. August Berkshire of Minnesota Atheists writes, "We precook the spaghetti the day before, then reheat it briefly at the event in pots of boiling water.  You can use the same water to reheat multiple batches of spaghetti.  Otherwise in would take to long to keep bringing new pots of water to a boil for each batch of spaghetti. Of course, from time to time you will want to use fresh water, but not every time."
8. After the event is over, clean up and pack up your stuff. Even if you’re being charged for custodial services, you should clean up!
1. Extra food can be given to group members, if they want it. You may be able to donate it to a local food bank – check beforehand to see if and how this can be done.
9. Make sure all outstanding bills have been paid. You should now have money for other activities!
10. Be sure to thank all of your coordinators, volunteers, and your dinner attendees!

Free Hugs from Atheists

Planning Time	One week
Group Size	1+
Staff #	1+
Event Date	Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Suggested Walkthrough
  

 

- Activity Overview: This is quite possibly the simplest activity you can do; although you can fancy it up somewhat, at heart all you’re doing is holding up a sign and hugging passersby. However, there are some steps you can take to make sure you get noticed. In particular, you’ll want to be in a place where between 400 and 3,000 people pass daily. The exact number will depend on the size of your school, or the size of the town/city if you go off-campus.  As a particularly simple activity, this can be easily combined with something else, such as tabling, or as publicity before a larger event.


- Planning timeframe:  If you take more than one week to plan this, you’re overthinking it.

- Coordinating: This works best when you can get a number of huggers to congregate at one time in one place. If 1 to 10 people in your group can agree on a time and place, that will work. Coordination should be limited to making signs together.

- Material requirements: Signs can be made out of a combination of posterboard, carboard, crayons, markers, construction paper, letter paper, glitter – your imagination is your only limit! Check with your student activities office for what resources are available through your university. Making the signs yourself is ideal - this activity attracts attention through a light-hearted yet sincere approach, and more professional signs would be out of place.

 

Suggested Walkthrough

1. Within your group, find a handful of people willing to participate. Figure out a time and place to dispense the hugs, and pick a time and place before then to make signs. You can designate a person or persons to obtain materials, or everyone can be responsible for bringing their own.
2. Make signs. Slogans should be short and convey the essence of your activity: “Free Hugs”, “Free Hugs from Atheists”, “Free Hugs from Humanists”, etc. They should be colorful and inviting. Stay away from anything that might imply exclusion or intolerance of others – don’t have signs that say, “Free Hugs for Atheists”.
3. This event really doesn’t require promotion in the form of advertising. However, you may want to notify the local or campus media – it should result in some positive coverage, which would be especially good for a new group, or if you are in a fairly conservative area. You can write a press release (tips on how to do that can be found at www.secularstudents.org/media) or simply talk to a reporter. If the press doesn’t come, don’t worry – at the very least you’ll have some positive word-of-mouth.
4. At the appointed time and place, hold up your signs and hug people!
5. Afterwards, put away your signs for another time. All huggers can go out for ice cream together.

Fruit & Vegetable Picking

Planning time	Week of
Group Size	4+
Event Date	Any

 

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Suggested Walkthrough
  

- Activity Overview: College students rarely get significant contact with the food they eat. Going on a fruit or vegetable picking gives you a great excuse to get off campus and provides a fun and cheap social event.          

- Planning timeframe: Each crop is seasonal, but there is something tasty popping out of the ground all year round. It’s as simple as looking for the next harvest, something you can literally plan the week before.


Before your group can go places, you need to plan transportation. Carpooling is environmentally-friendly, and can be funded by your university. Make sure you have enough drivers to take everybody, and determine alternates in case some drop out. If you’re going on a longer trip, find people within the group who can sub in for an hour or more. Check with your school to see if they have vans you can use.

- Coordinating: All you need to go is round up members who are interested in coming, and finding carpools to get everyone there.   

- Material requirements: In terms of the picking itself, you should bring your own containers – some farms have their own, but some charge for the privilege. Otherwise, you’ll want to plan as if this were a regular day trip; come prepared with water, hand towels, lunch and snacks. Pickers should wear old, comfortable clothing, with protection from the sun in summer and extra layers in cold weather. Individually, have cash on hand for the farm's bakery or store.

Suggested Walkthrough 

1. If you want a particular fruit or vegetable, look and find out what its season is. Then wait for it. If you’re less picky, find out which one you’re in now. Pickyourown.org is a great resource to look up what’s growing in your area.
2. Call ahead to the farm to see that they can accommodate you, and that the fruit you want will be available. Conditions change quickly!
3. Organize carpools to get there.
   
4. Get an idea of how much of the crop you will need to make a desired food.
5. When you get there, look for the farm’s rules – particularly whether you will be charged by weight, volume, or count. If you don’t know how to identify ripe fruit, ask!
6. After you get back, clean your produce. If you don’t make food immediately, find out how to preserve your loot (pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm).
7. This can make a great prelude to a bake sale or group dinner! 

Group Mohawking

Planning Time	1 week
Group Size	Any
Staff #	1
Event Date	Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough

 

- Activity Overview: There are a number of good reasons for your group members to shave their heads into Mohawks, and none of them make you a cult. There is great value in making a normally invisible minority identifiable; visibility has always been an issue for freethinkers, who traditionally have been unable and unwilling to out themselves. In addition, doing this as a group creates a strong group dynamic, and enhances solidarity between members, without necessarily excluding or off-putting outsiders. Finally, this activity makes for a great fundraising opportunity, especially if you can promote this as, “Pay $X to give ______ a Mohawk for charity!” (For more information on setting that up, refer to the Fundraising section in your Group Running Guide, as well as the Charities and Service Project activity packets.).             

- Planning timeframe: To get the supplies and convince members to take part should only take one week; if you’re planning a fundraising event in conjunction, it may take three to four weeks of planning.


- Coordinating: Find someone (not necessarily within your group) who can cut your hair, preferably for free.


- Material requirements: You’ll need a hair clipper and clips to shave off the unnecessary hair, and possibly a beard trimmer or razor for detailed work. Mirrors will enable both the cutter and cut to see what’s going on. Get a plastic tarp to put under the cutting chair; even if you’re doing it outside, you don’t want to leave hair just everywhere. For the optional idea mentioned in step 5, you'd need spray paint and stiff paper.


- Cooperating Organizations: Seriously, who in their right mind would want to do this with you?

 

Suggested Walkthrough


1. Talk to your members about getting Mohawks as a group. Don’t coerce or pressure them, but inform them that all the cool atheists are getting Mohawks (Photoshopped pictures of Richard Dawkins will come in handy).
2. Allow people to research how they want their hair to look. This will depend largely on their natural hair style.
3. Set up your grooming area.
4. Shave away! Since the variety of possibilities and styles is so wide, you’ll want to look up how the desired style is achieved. WikiHow has a good general introduction (www.wikihow.com/Put-up-a-Mohawk-or-Liberty-Spikes), and look around online for other ideas.
5. Consider spray paint or hair stencils in the shape of the OUT Campaign’s A. If your Mohawk hasn’t gotten the message across, this certainly will! About.com has a good introduction (beauty.about.com/cs/hairstylehowtos/ht/stencilhair.htm), and look on this page for ideas for creating a stencil (www.beauty-and-the-bath.com/Hair-Stencils.html).
6. Live the dream! (www.wikihow.com/Dress-Like-a-Crusty)

List of Discussion Meeting Topics

Discussion is pretty essential to a good group dynamic – besides making the group interactive, it allows you to develop your ideas and blow off steam. On occasion you’ll want to have a meeting devoted fully or partially to discussing a particular atheism-related topic; these can be good introductions for potential members or curious outsiders. What follows is a list of stimulating topics used by James Madison University Freethinkers and Ohio State Students for Freethought.

Freethought


• Are atheists and agnostics outcasts in American society? Why or why not? What instances of inclusion or exclusion have been significant in your life?
• Atheism and the meaning of life – can there be a purpose without a god?
• Growth and Visibility of the Non-Religious in American Life – Why are we getting more numerous and notorious? How should we handle it?
• Can Atheism and Agnosticism be considered a faith? If they aren't faiths, what can we call them?
• Morality and Ethics in the absence of God. Can it occur? Does it occur? Is spirituality necessary for morality or is altruism inherent in nature?

Coming Out as a Freethinker

• Your roommate, who you’ve lived with for three and half weeks now, asks you if you’d like to come to church with them. How do you reply? How would this be different if it were your best friend whom you’ve known since Kindergarten?
• Do you ever feel self-conscious when discussing your beliefs with your friends and acquaintances? Does knowing that you may have unpopular views ever stop you from discussing your true beliefs?
• At Thanksgiving dinner your family, who is so happy to see you after your long months away from home, asks you to lead the prayer. What do you do?
• One of your beloved family members dies and you are asked to go to the funeral. However, it’s going to be a very traditionally religious funeral. Would this affect your likelihood to go there? How would you act when there (e.g. bowing head during prayer)?
• How open is your family about discussing religious views and beliefs? In what way do you feel this has affected the evolution of your views and “spiritual growth”? Also, do you feel this has affected your ability to discuss your views with others?
• How do you feel about discussing your views with co-workers? Do you feel that the workplace is or is not a place where religious views and/or ideologies should be discussed?
• You’re walking across the oval when someone in a bright yellow tee-shirt (inside joke) walks up to and says “Can I ask you a personal question?” You say okay and they ask you “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and personal savior?” How do you respond? How does the fact that they are a stranger influence your response?
• Your sibling is becoming increasingly religious. They’re even planning on taking a pilgrimage to the “holy land”. They ask you if you would like to come with them. How do you reply?
• You have a new person you’re dating and are very fond of. They tell you that they believe that you may be their soul mate. How do you respond to this? How do you feel about dating people with different religious views than you?
• Many years from now you have a child and one day they announce that they are a fundamentalist (of whatever religion you want) and that your life will be shallow and incomplete unless you convert as well. What do you say to them? What do you do?

Death & Dying

• Almost all religious traditions have ceremonies to mark the end of a person's life. Should the freethought community have similar ceremonies? What sort of things should they be sure to include? What sorts of things should be avoided?
• Imagine a relative of yours passes away. You knew the loved one reasonably well and had discovered that they were not at all religious. Your family is planning a religious funeral. Would you bring up the views of the departed loved one to your family? Would you speak at the funeral and let people know what the loved one thought about religion? What would you do if people in  your family started theorizing about the loved one now being in hell?
• How large of a role do you think the fear of death plays in many people's religious views? Do you think that it prevents people from using their reason and skepticism to the fullest?
• Are you afraid of death? Disappointed about its inevitability? How does knowing that you will only be around for a limited amount of time influence the way you live your life? Do you think that the inevitability of death makes the happiness and accomplishments of this life any less meaningful? Does it make them more meaningful? Given the opportunity to live forever, or say, for a thousand, or million years, would you take it?
• When someone close to you dies, how do you deal with it? What sort of thoughts do you take comfort in? Are there special things you do to honor their memory? What about when you hear of a disaster where hundreds or thousands were killed?
• Do you think people should be allowed to end their own lives? Should there be restrictions? Should a teenager have the same right to end their life as an old person with a painful, untreatable
  illness? Do you think family pressure from younger members of a family for an older member to end their own life could become divisive and destructive?

Sexual Ethics

• There’s a person you’re very attracted to in one of your boring courses. One day after class, you approach them and strike up a conversation, with the intent to ask them out on a date. During the conversation it comes up that they’re a 16 year-old who is here through a program for gifted students. Would you still ask them out?
• Is it okay for friends to have sex for recreational purposes? Do you think you can really have sex without developing emotional attachments?
• An acquaintance you’re attracted to has a little too much to drink at a party and starts hitting on you. After a little banter back and forth, it becomes clear that they’re trying to get you into bed. Would you take them up on their offer, despite the fact that their judgment is clearly blurred?
• Is it wrong to have sexual relations with animals if the animals included are not being physically harmed?
• Let’s say you had herpes, an incurable (although not fatal) disease that causes much discomfort. If you used latex barriers for all forms of penetration (oral, anal, vaginal), would it then be ethical to continue having sex with people? How would people knowing you had the disease affect your decision?
• You’re the boss and one of the employees who you are quite interested in is coming on to you a lot. Is it okay to date them? How about having sex with them?
• You ask someone out on a date and they agree. During the date they tell you that they are married, but still interested in seeing you. What do you do?
• If two people in a happy relationship have certain sexual needs and/or fantasies that they do not share and are unwilling to participate in, is it okay for them to seek out that need/fantasy from others outside their relationship?
• Are there any fantasies or fetishes that you consider “just plain wrong”?
• On a trip abroad, you slipped and ended up having a one-night stand with a person you will very likely never see again. Would you tell your partner when you returned?

Religion & Society


• Bible Stories They Didn’t Tell You in Sunday School – can include presentations from those versed in the Bible, as well as the formerly religious.
• Christian pop-culture is a fast-growing industry. What does this say about religion and its place in society? Is the craze for “family-friendly” entertainment OK, or does it foreshadow (un)official censorship? Could there or should there be a freethinking culture industry?
• Monogamy! Are humans naturally monogamous, and should they be?
• What is science, anyway? Can or should science deal with religious and ethical matters?
• Should euthanasia be legal nationally? How can it be made safe and morally acceptable? This also brings up the morality of suicide, in idea and practice.
• Should it be legal to kill someone who killed someone else? If so, in what cases? If not, why not? Is life or justice more important?
• Paranormal weirdness – what’s real? What’s not? Why do some people believe in it so strongly, and why is society so fascinated with ghosts & UFOs?
• Conspiracy Theories – which are your favorites? What do you find believable about them? Why do people like them so much? What ideas that are “acceptable” today will only be held by cranks in the future?
• PETA, animal rights, and cannibalism. How should humanists approach animal rights? Is PETA a good or a bad organization, in theory and in practice? Is cannibalism inherently wrong?
• Is piracy okay? Do you think it should be legal? How would you feel if something that you created was shared for free on the internet and you couldn't get paid for your work?
• How do you feel about guns? Do you think you should be allowed to carry your own weapon wherever you want? How would you feel if the person next to you was carrying a gun?
• Drug legalization/decriminalization. Should we legalize everything? Or should just certain drugs be legalized and others decriminalized?  Or is it good for our society to keep drugs illegal?
• Tolerance. Is it important to be tolerant? What is tolerance? When is it necessary and when is it not? Are the Freethinkers tolerant or are we too tolerant? Are there certain people that we shouldn't be tolerant to?
• Obama has talked about repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. So what are your thoughts on this? Should homosexual couples be granted the same rights as heterosexual couples?
• Heaven and Hell – what different kinds are there? Why do people believe in them? How does (non)belief in an afterlife affect our lives on earth?
 
Here's an idea from Noah Stevens, President of UWF Freethinkers:

One thing we did that worked out nicely, in lieu of a regular meeting wherein we just sort of addled about aimlessly talking about interesting things, was:

We played a game I got at Goodwill for about 3.00$ u.s. called "A Question of Scruples". It might be called "Scruples" but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, it's a discussion-based card game where participants remove question cards from their hand by posing them to other players, trying to pick the person who will answer their question with an answer (e.g. "Yes","No", "Depends") they get at random from another deck. The fun bit is that due to a challenge rule, any player may challenge another player's answer. Each person gets a chance to make their respective case, then all parties vote. It's fun, and funny, and stirs up feelings both good and bad. The main thing is to talk about the decidedly ambiguous questions that are posed...

I invite you to try this link:

http://boardgamegeeks.com/game/1748

for information about the game. It's probably not easy to find but if you're lucky you can get it "cheep". It occurs to me a similar thing could be done with any of the various "Book of Questions", a cup full of "Yes" or "No" or "Depends" tokens, and a clever room full of people...

List of Freethought Conferences

Elsewhere we’ve covered SkeptiCamps, do-it-yourself conferences for presenting and discussing issues of interest to skeptics, humanists, and atheists. While they are fun and interesting in their own right, they lack some of the crucial advantages of the conferences sponsored by national groups. These gatherings offer lectures and interaction with well-known freethought luminaries, networking with activists from across the country, and the opportunity to travel to interesting new places with your student group.

More and more of these conferences have come to recognize the advantages of student representation, and accordingly offer reduced (even free) student registration. Because some can be counted for school credit, your university may be able to fund travel costs. Finally, if you are looking to be a part of the freethought movement after college, or even have a career within it, a conference can be a useful aid to those ends.

In that spirit, what follows is a list of major freethought conferences, as well as what advantages they offer students.

    * American Humanist Association (AHA)
          The AHA is a federation of humanist groups from around the United States, and is one of the largest forces in the freethought movement. Their annual conference (www.americanhumanist.org/What_We_Do/Annual_Conference) hosts distinguished speakers, workshops, exhibits from vendors and organizations, and awards the Humanist of the Year.

    * American Atheists (AA)
          AA is one of the oldest and most well-known advocates for the atheist cause. They recently joined the Secular Coalition, and are looking to expand student access to their national convention (www.atheists.org/events/National_Convention).

    * James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) - The Amaz!ng Meeting
          While not strictly a part of the atheist movement, JREF is a fantastic community of skeptics, debunkers, and other promoters of rational thinking. The Amaz!ng Meeting (TAM) hosts well-known skeptics and scientists in a variety of fields, from academia to popular culture (www.randi.org/site/index.php/amazing-meeting.html). Common attendees include James Randi, magicians Penn & Teller, and Bad Astronomer Phil Plait.

    * International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU)
          Although they only put on the World Humanist Congress every three years, IHEU brings together freethinkers from around the world. For the in-between years, IHEU also puts on conferences on selected topics, such as women's empowerment and bioethics (www.iheu.org/conferences).

    * Atheist Alliance International (AAI)
          With a reputation for getting big-name speakers, including Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennet, and Bill Maher, AAI also offers steep discounts for students (www.atheistalliance.org/Conventions.html).

    * Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF)
          FFRF's annual convention in the fall focuses more on opposition to religion than some other conferences, and almost always features their charismatic co-president Dan Barker (http://www.ffrf.org/events/).

    * Secular Student Alliance (SSA)
          What can we say but...best conference ever? The SSA's conference is geared for students, offering steep discounts, cheap housing, and (funds permitting) travel grants. Workshops are offered on various aspects of student organizing, from team-building to political advocacy. Additionally, you'll meet student freethought leaders from across the country, as well as atheist luminaries who are directly concerned with and supportive of student atheism (www.secularstudents.org/conference).

    * Skeptic Society
          While focused on skeptical and scientific issues, the Skeptic Society is never afraid to tackle religious, social, and ethical topics. Generally features leader and publisher of Skeptic magazine Michael Shermer (http://www.skeptic.com/lectures/conferences/).

List of Secular Holidays

List of Secular Holidays

                While certainly not comprehensive, this list includes a number of well-known and minor humanist holidays. We emphasize the ones in bold as useful opportunities for promoting freethought, although you can really have any event on any holiday. Some ideas for marking these holidays are available in our Secular Holidays Activity Packet (http://secularstudents.org/node/2591). 


January

16th – Religious Freedom Day

29th - Thomas Paine Day


 

February

12th – Darwin Day

 

March

8th - International Women's Day


14th – Pi Day & Einstein’s Birthday

20/21 - Spring Equinox


23rd – Near Miss Day (Earth almost hit by an asteroid)

26th – Dawkin’s Birthday

 

April

22nd – Earth Day

 

May

First Thursday – National Day of Reason

1st – May Day

5th – Karl Marx’s Birthday

25th – Towel Day / Geek Pride Day

29th – End of the Middle Ages Day

 

June

21st - World Humanist Day





September

15th – Int’l Day of Democracy

19th - Talk Like a Pirate Day


21st – Int’l Day of Peace

23rd - Banned Book Week

 

October - Freethought Month!

12th - Freethought Day (http://freethoughtday.org/)

15th – Nietzsche’s Birthday

23rd – Mole Day

 

November

Week before Thanksgiving – Church-State Separation Week

11th – Kurt Vonnegut’s Birthday

21st – Voltaire’s Birthday

23rd - HumanLight / Festivus


24th – Evolution Day (anniversary of publication of Origin of Species)

 

December

10th – Human Rights Day

15th – Bill of Rights ratified

21st or 22nd – Winter Solstice

25th – Newtonmas (Issac Newton’s birthday)

Lobbying & Political Activism

Lobbying & Political Activism

Or, Nice Ways to Make Change

• Letter-Writing Campaign
• Petitions
• Calling Legislators / Phonebanking
• Action Alerts
• Dorm-Raps / Canvassing
  
• Leafleting
• Letters to the Editor / Op-Eds 
• Meeting with Elected Officials & Staff
• Proposals & Resolutions
• Public Hearing / Town Hall
• Rallies
• Polling & Referendums
• Voter Registration
  

While the judiciary has historically been one of the best curbs against theocracy, we should also concentrate on making change through the legislative and executive branches, as well as school administrations. Student organizations have a unique, almost uncanny ability to raise awareness on important issues, and can translate this into meaningful action. This packet is intended as the flipside of the Demonstrations & Protests packet; this one concerns the more respectable, and perhaps more effective, methods to creating change. Don’t consider the separation to be too strict; both sets of tactics can be useful, and even intermixed. Most of the resources referred to here are available from our Activist Resources page, which we hope to update often.


In particular, I would like to emphasize the value of using local government as a platform to combat (among other things) intelligent design, civil liberties abuses, and anti-atheist discrimination. The student movement in particular should be working on this level. Students already come into contact with local governments a great deal, and it is at the county and municipal level that students have the best chance of influencing policy. Furthermore, local activism promotes atheist and student visibility in our communities, a direct rebuttal to the charges that we don’t exist (the former) or are apathetic (the latter).

There are, of course, many more organizing guides and tactics than I could ever hope to represent here. A good starting point is Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, a grassroots organizing manual that famously begins, “The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.” But don’t just listen to me; Alinsky’s guide worked pretty well for an upstart named Barack Obama. A distillation of his rules is available at www.vcn.bc.ca/citizens-handbook/rules.html.

 

Letter-writing campaign

Write letters to legislators, school officials, trustees, donors, and parents to let them know what’s going on! At a tabling event you can give people paper and pens to write their own; alternatively, you can take five minutes at a meeting to have members quickly write their own letters.

Personal and handwritten letters are more likely to be read and replied to than typed or form letters. Be complimentary, rather than combative, but firmly state your case. See AU’s guide to Writing Your Elected officials (secularstudents.org/node/2580).

 

Petitions

              Many campus organizing manuals have a one-line suggestion that you “conduct a petition drive”, but this ignores how difficult they are to do well. Our website has a document that does into great detail on the ins-and-out of running an effective petition drive (secularstudents.org/node/2576). A few important points from that guide:

• Don’t have a petition drive without a well-crafted, direct, and targeted demand. While petitions are great at generating and demonstrating interest in an issue, unless they point to a very specific change the signers want to see, all you’ll have is a stack of pages expressing vague sentiments.
• As a corollary to that, don’t have a petition drive without a specific plan for leveraging signatures. Know how you’ll use the list of signatures (e.g., at a public meeting, as part of a media campaign) so the people you talk will know that their signatures have an immediate impact.
• Your petition is also a great way to harvest information about people interested in your cause. However, keep in mind that they are not signing up to join your group; you can contact them in the future for action (a rally, another petition), but not for a regular meeting.

 

Calling Legislators / Phonebank

You can call people for a number of reasons – to alert people to an issue, to ask for their support on an issue (similar to a petition), and to activate potential volunteers. To do this, you’ll need a list of numbers to call, which you can harvest from your sign-up sheet. Some tips for making effective calls to public officials can be found in AU's guide to Calling Your Legislator (secularstudents.org/node/2580).


If you’d like to phonebank about a state or federal issue, talk to an off-campus group like SCA, AU, or the ACLU. They are likely to have a large list of numbers, as well as access to automated calling software.

 

Action alerts 

              Action alerts refer to emails sent by a watchdog group to notify members of important upcoming votes and actions, and provide you with a way to get involved (send an email to legislators, attend a training, etc.). These are useful for alerting your group to opportunities for activism, something that you can organize around. Sign up yourself and group leaders to these or others:

• Secular Coalition for America - www.secular.org/activism/
• American Civil Liberties Union – action.aclu.org
• Americans United - www.au.org/stay-up-to-date/emails/
• NARAL Pro-Choice America - www.naral.org/choice-action-center

 

Dorm-rap/Canvassing

              Basically, going door-to-door to talk to folks about issues and get them involved, either on or off-campus. This should be in the context of an ongoing campaign and not as a general recruitment drive; it’s much more effective and useful to do this to, say, get people to sign a petition, write a letter, or attend a rally. More ideas and tips, such as how to develop a rap, can be found in an excerpt from the SEAC organizing guide on our website (secularstudents.org/node/2586).

 

Leafleting

              This is a good way to reach people who haven’t or won’t stop at your table. Leaflets ought to be ¼ or 1/6 size, and should have a simple message about an issue, ways to take action, an announcement about an event, and (as always) contact and meeting info. If several members stand in a crowded place at one time, they can easily hand out several hundred.

              When handing out leaflets, be friendly but outgoing – thrusting a leaflet into someone’s hands will usually get them to take it. Since many will be thrown out, a way to reuse them (and reduce paper use) is to have a clearly marked Discard box for unwanted leaflets.

    Because high schools often have more restrictive policies on leafleting (and free speech in general), high school students may find this information packet helpful: www.secularstudents.org/node/2577.

Letters to the Editor & Op-Eds

Letters to the editor are an easy way to generate buzz about an issue of concern. They're constantly checked by the staff of politicians, so this is a great to let them know how their constituents feel! Our media relations guide has several resources devoted to writing letters and getting them published (http://www.secularstudents.org/media#lte).


Opinion pieces are longer than a letter to the editor, but much more prominent. It’s not worth your time to regularly write op-eds, but if there is an important issue in your campus or community, especially one that concerns your group directly, an op-ed is a great way to make your position clearly known. The ACLU has some guidelines for writing an op-ed (action.aclu.org/sitePageServer?pagename=AP_write_op_ed).

Meeting with Elected Officials & Staff

              Taking the time to talk to your elected officials personally is the most direct expression of your concern and interest in an issue. Some groups sponsor Lobby Days, which your members can attend en masse. If that’s not an option, simply call and make an appointment to speak one-on-one with them or their staff. Simply go there and explain that, as a constituent, you are concerned with a particular issue for certain reasons, and that there are a number of other constituents who are similarly concerned.

              For more tips on these meetings, our website includes some resources on working with public officials (secularstudents.org/node/2580).  Also see the ACLU’s guide on their website (http://action.aclu.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AP_meeting_with_officials).


 

Proposals & Resolutions

              Submit a resolution or measure to your local legislature or student union. You have the best chances for success if:

• You can get a member of the body to introduce and fight for it. See if you know someone ‘inside’ who is sympathetic to your views.
• Be specific in your proposal. Address a general issue with a detailed way of confronting it, and include a timeline for implementation. If the proposal requires any sort of expenditure, be sure to look up prices and sources beforehand.
• Back up the proposal with visible signs of support – petitions, polls, a letter-writing campaign, rallies, and endorsements from faculty or prominent leaders.
• Don’t think that a resolution can’t have an impact; simply getting your town to affirm church/state separation, for instance, is the equivalent of hanging a sign reading “No Theocrats Need Apply”. The ACLU has some resources on how to pass a community resolution (www.aclu.org/safefree/resources/17287res20030520.html), as well as a sample resolution you can modify (www.aclu.org/safefree/resources/17087res20030714.html). You should also take a look at the resolution for Church-State Separation Week that Michigan State Freethinker Alliance was able to push through their city council.
  

 

Public Hearing / Town Hall

              You can either attend a public hearing put on by the university/town council, or conduct your own. The former is probably easiest, and generally more respectable. Most towns have a procedure for signing in and validating your residence if you want to speak; be sure to check the meeting rules on how this can be done. Bring back-up materials such as polls, petitions, and information to make sure your issue gets a full hearing. The best way to come out in force while being heard is to bring interested community members who can be visually identified (i.e. buttons or t-shirts), while selecting one or a handful of speakers to present your case.

              Holding your own town hall will allow you to more closely control the agenda, and can be a very effective publicity stunt. If, say, discrimination against the non-religious is being tolerated on campus, you can invite school officials to a panel to express their views and hear concerns; even if they don’t show up, this can be a useful community forum. However, be sure to maintain control and prevent the event from turning into a circus, which will reflect poorly on your group and campaign.

 

Rallies

              This is a more orderly and focused variant of a protest march. See the Rallies organizing page from the SEAC organizing guide (www.secularstudents.org/node/2587), and the Demonstrations & Protests activity packet.

 

Polling/Referendums

              Polling will allow you to demonstrate that there is widespread support for your campaign. Develop an unbiased question on an issue of concern (“Should the university continue having a religious invocation at commencement?”). Give the poll to a significant percentage of the student body and announce the results via press release.

              You may be able to place a referendum (binding or non-binding) on your school’s student union ballot. This will ensure that the whole campus has a chance to answer, and will be much more visible; however, if it goes against you, there’s no way to hide it, and you will have to put in some work simply to get it on the ballot. Check your student government’s constitution to see the rules governing this.

 

Voter Registration

              You should do it! Generally, you can register in your hometown or your college town, but not both. Search for information on how to do it in your state; you can also register at any place that grants driver’s licenses.

Merchandise Sale

Planning Time	Previous semester
Group Size	6+
Staff #	2-3
Event Date	Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough
  




-  Activity Overview: This fundraiser, besides getting you mucho dinero if done correctly, can pimp your group and the freethought movement to your campus for a long time coming – after all, t-shirts and buttons are meant to be seen! However, it requires planning and some diligent detective work, and can lose you a lot of money if you won’t put in the time and effort. The size of your sale depend on the size of your group, whether your members are willing to buy your merchandise, and whether you can market your wares to the campus at large.

- Planning timeframe: Preferably start planning a merchandise sale the previous semester, in order to be sure you can get items on consignment (more on that later). Since it’s hard to move merchandise without an outside stimulus, you don’t want to have a random table selling merchandise; figure out a way to attach the sale to a well-attended event, either yours or someone else’s. It may be possible to go off-campus to sell things – at a local freethought event, at a festival, or at another school’s freethought event. However, going off-campus is more difficult, and you must ask beforehand if it’s ok!

- Coordinating: The majority of planning this will go into obtaining merchandise, getting a place and time to sell it, and getting volunteers to help sell it. This can be handled by 2 to 3 coordinators. Figuring out what to sell and where is ultimately the coordinator’s decision, but they should make it in consultation with the group as a whole. Selling itself will require 2 or 3 volunteers at the table at all times.Your group treasurer needs to be aware of what's going on at all stages of planning!

              As always, group leaders need to periodically check in to be sure everything is running smoothly!             


- Material requirements: Obviously, you’ll need the merchandise to sell. Beyond that, you’ll want your group’s banner on display, and fliers for upcoming events. You’ll need a table from which to sell your items and a cashbox to collect money – check with student activities and/or the student union Treasurer to see if they can lend them to you.

- Cooperating Organizations: No groups will be helping you sell merchandise, but depending on what you sell you may want to notify related groups – if you’re selling a lot of politics-related books, for instance, tell political groups or the politics department.




Suggested Walkthrough

1. Within your group, brainstorm what you want to sell – common items are t-shirts, buttons, stickers, novelties, and books. In particular, look at the catalogs of the OUT campaign (outcampaign.org) and Evolve Fish (evolvefish.com ) – their goods are freethought and progressive, and they are willing to offer them to student groups on consignment. That is, they can sell them to you at or near-cost, and any profits you make above that are yours to keep.
1. Buying goods on consignment, while useful, requires coordination. You generally need to be a recognized student group to be credible enough. Furthermore, you will likely need some lead time in order to obtain the merchandise, particularly if they do not keep a warehouse. The OUT Campaign, for instance, can offer goods on consignment for 30 day terms. Plan ahead!
2. Prometheus Books, a freethought publishing house, has a fantastic offer – they will sell student groups selected titles at 50% off, which can be sold at speaker events for profit. Unsold books must be shipped back at the group’s expense. The invoice comes after books are shipped, so it’s a very nice consignment gig. The only caveat is that the student group must be a Center for Inquiry affiliate – for more information, contact Debbie Goddard (dgoddard@centerforinquiry.net).
3. If your group determines that it can’t sell items outside of the group, what may work is buying things for the group. You can order a bunch of t-shirts for members to buy from the group, which can raise money amongst yourselves while promoting group unity. However, be wary of trying to get others to make orders for group-specific merchandise – not only is it tough to break even, it is a total pain to guilt your friends into buying things to support your group.
2. Place your order well ahead of time. Be sure that the volume is in line with your anticipated demand. Concentrate on particular items – you have a better chance of selling out if you get, say, 20 of a popular book or t-shirt, than if you get one each of every item in the catalog.
1. If you don't know what will sell, talk to the vendor or the SSA..  They'll be able to help you place a suitable order.
   
3. The point-of-sale is just as important as what you’re selling. If you’re connecting your sale with your own event, make sure there will be room for a table and enough volunteers to staff it.
1. If you’re selling at someone else’s event, ask permission in advance, and be sure to explain that you’re raising funds for a poor student group, and are not connected with evil corporations. It will help if the people running the event won’t have a competing table for their own merchandise.
2. Some venues have policies about merchandise sales (e.g. a percentage of the profits), so be sure to look these up in advance.
   
4. If the sale is connected with a speaker, have the speaker’s books or merchandise. Ask the speaker if they can do a book signing afterwards.
5. Include the sale/book signing in your advertising for your event. If you’re selling at someone else’s event, it wouldn’t hurt to help them advertise, if possible. Refer to the Group Running Guide for information on advertising.
6. You should be tracking the shipment and delivery of your merchandise immediately after you order it. If you don’t have it at least two weeks before the sale, though, contact the seller and make sure it's coming!
7. Determine in advance what forms of payment you're willing (and able) to take.
1. Get a receipt book at an office-supply store so you can provide receipts to customers who ask for them.
   
8. At least two weeks before, you should confirm that your volunteers can help sell items. Nobody wants to huck merchandise for more than an hour or two, so if the table will be there for longer, then schedule rotations.
1. Make sure your volunteers are a least a little familiar with what they’re selling, and can pitch them to customers. You may want to prepare a crib sheet with details about the items.
9. At the sale itself, have your banner and fliers on display. Keep 2 or 3 volunteers at the table at all times – one person can quickly be overwhelmed. Make sure someone trustworthy is in charge of the cashbox. The cashbox must be in that person's sight at all times!

   If you're going to be handling cash, there are some important things to keep in mind. You’ll need a cashbox, which you can borrow from student activities or purchase, as well as someone trustworthy to handle it. Decide beforehand what forms of payment you can take – usually cash, sometimes checks, only rarely credit. Think about using a laptop for people to access PayPal. Customers may ask for a receipt – you can get a receipt book at an office supply store. This can help you inventory so nothing gets lost!

10. Keep an inventory. This will allow you to check how much money you should have in the cashbox, as well as clue you in to what sold and what didn’t, something that you can use for future sales.  
11. Extra merchandise should either be shipped back to the seller or sold to the group membership, perhaps at a discount. You can theoretically keep it for a future sale, but that requires storage. 
12. A coordinator needs to follow-up to make sure that the invoices have been paid, and that all money made is properly deposited. If you lost money on that sale, your group needs to know about it!
13. Be sure to thank your volunteers, coordinators, and speaker!

Opportunities for Activism

Things to Protest

• Discrimination against atheists, the non-religious, and minority Faiths
• Anti-atheist prejudice has a long and storied history in the United States - as a matter of fact, the "In God We Trust" that theocrats are so fond of pointing to only became the national motto in the 1950s as a statement against "godless communists". Bigotry and exclusion against nontheistic people and viewpoints is still around today, but is rarely commented upon. Sadly, too many people think that when we bring up these instances we're "whining". Nonetheless, we need to overcome these attitudes and stand up when they occur. A library of information on the subject is available at the About Atheism website (atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/Bigotry_Discrimination_Against_Atheists_Godless_Nonreligious.htm).
• If a group member or local freethinker is discriminated against on account of their nonbelief, contact the Anti-Discrimination Support Network (www.fsgp.org/anti-discrimination-support-ne), which can provide them with counseling and legal support.
• Preachers of intolerance and hate (e.g., Westboro Baptist Church)
• Iowa State Atheist & Agnostic Society held a “mostly silent” protest when religious bigot Tom Short came to preach on campus. Although some audience members attempted to debate him, for the most part members sat silently around him, holding signs and banners promoting tolerance and freedom of speech.
• Another activity for these preachers (who invariably repeat the same tired clichés) is to make bingo cards out of hate-speech buzzwords.
• Creationism and intelligent design
• If you see a teacher advocating creationism, you can do something about it! Matt LaClair recorded his high school teacher denying evolution, as well as proclaiming that all non-Christians were bound for hell.  After showing his father copies of these statements, legal action successfully stopped the teacher from using the classroom as a pulpit.
• Religious invocations at commencement
• Students at Saddleback College in California, with the help of Americans United and the ACLU, successfully pressured their school into dropping religious invocations at commencement. In years before, they had protested by holding a banner outside reading, “Respect everyone’s beliefs”.
• The student Senate at the University of Maryland voted to remove the traditional prayer from their school’s commencement; however, the university President, citing outside pressures, reinstated it. Students planned to protest this by standing in a visible place on campus with t-shirt’s promoting tolerance and diversity.
• National Day of Prayer
• Atheists celebrate the alternative National Day of Reason by holding blood drives, picketing legislators, and drawing attention to the inappropriate government endorsement of religion.
• Anti-abortion demonstrations
• The anti-abortion movement seeks to undermine women’s reproductive health by a variety of despicable methods, such as blockading the entrance to clinics and issuing virulent denunciations of doctors which serve as implicit calls for violence. Contact your local provider and see what you can do to help; many require clinic escorts to protect patients en route to the facility.
• Government establishment of religion
• Many courts have ruled that government buildings which host some form of religious symbolism (e.g. nativity scene, Ten Commandments monument) must also accept and display the symbolism of other faiths. This has led many groups to create and install displays honoring the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which generally leads to all displays being taken down, or the exposure of the government to ridicule. If you're interested in challenging the legality of a religious display in your area, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (http://ffrf.org) can offer advice and assistance.
  

Progressive Organizations Mixer

Planning Time	3+ weeks
Group Size	Any
Staff #	3+
Event Date	Any

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough
  

- Activity Overview: Networking and intergroup cooperation can often be awkward. You’re comfortable with the people in your group and the way they function, but working with others requires you to reset your personal and organizational pathways. A progressive mixer allows you to network with other like-minded people in a fairly causal way. You can get an idea of how big this will be by assessing the size of your school and its activist population.

- Planning timeframe:  Coordinating with other groups can be difficult, especially because you need to accommodate different meeting schedules. To get people interested, and to solicit help, you’ll want to at least float the idea to other groups at the beginning of the semester. 


- Coordinating: The most important initial task is to get other clubs to commit to it. Your group leader(s) should talk to other group leaders, build lines of communication, and then get them interested in the mixer.           

After that, the mixer itself is pretty simple. You’ll need to coordinate food & drinks, icebreakers and activities, getting the word out to members of clubs, and setting an agenda. Either one group can take charge, or planning can be parceled out to coordinators from different groups, but they need to keep in touch with one another. 

- Material requirements: The space you hold the mixer in should be a room centrally located on campus, in order to make it easy for everyone to come. The mood of the mixer will very much be determined by the room you pick – for a more business-oriented meeting, choose a conference room. However, a mixer ought to be more convivial; see if you can find a place with chairs and couches, as well as space to eat and socialize.

              Food should be relatively inexpensive, palatable to a wide range of people, and easy to eat. Pizza and hors d'oeuvres should work, but be sure to offer something for everyone, especially people with allergies and dietary restrictions! (You can ask group leaders about this beforehand). Don’t forget plates, napkins, cups and plasticware.

When serving food, you’ll always need to be aware of health regulations, as well as campus policies – your university’s food service office may be able to help. Ask to make sure your venue allows food service, and if any custodial fees will be associated with it. Look to local and campus restaurants for catering information.

              You can ask attendees to bring business cards or flyers.

- Cooperating Organizations: You’ll want a variety of groups who share similar goals and values to yours – organizations with feminist, environmental, LGBT, labor, anti-racist and democratic concerns are all viable options. Be open to new groups and groups you haven’t collaborated with. Your school may already have an activist resource center for just such like-minded groups.

              However, since you are meeting to share common concerns and causes, don’t invite too wide a variety. Andrew Cederdahl of the USC Columbia Pastafarians writes, “the point is to establish a relationship with other groups in the hopes to work together on issues. Bringing in groups whose values are too antithetical to your secular group will only create conflict and probably not accomplish anything.” You can collaborate more effectively with these groups (e.g. Campus Crusade for Christ) in a setting where your differences are the point, such as a debate or a shared service project.




Suggested Walkthrough 

1. As mentioned, your group leaders should initiate contact with other group leaders, and after establishing lines of communication they can bring up the idea for a progressive mixer. Be sure to emphasize your groups’ common aims and values, as well as the opposition you all face, particularly from the religious right.
1. Your pitch should make specific reference to the commonalities between groups. However, avoid hostility towards religion generally – your allies may well be religious themselves, albeit more moderate believers. Focus on how religious fundamentalism is antithetical to all of you.
2. Ask interested leader to talk to their clubs, and gauge members’ interest. This is designed to be a casual, unofficial get-together, not something that needs to be voted on. Even if some members don’t want to come, any interested members are invited.
3. Planning the event can either be done by one group or multiple groups. If a group is particularly excited about it, feel free to give them the reins. Working with coordinators from different clubs can work, and will make sure that everyone’s concerns are met, but can be more difficult. At the very least, after initially suggesting it your group should step up to take charge – if other groups want to be involved, you should include them in planning.
4. After securing a space and getting food and supplies, you’ll need to set an agenda. This should include some group introductions as well as icebreakers, but don’t get into action items – this is designed as an event to get to know other groups on an individual level.
5. Check with group leaders and make sure they remind their membership about the mixer. Do this ahead of time – some groups only meet monthly! Ask if they can send out email reminders as well. Make a Facebook event, and have the admins of other groups invite their members.
6. Something to help loosen people up (without alcohol) are icebreakers that aren't tedious, boring, or grade-school. Ask your group members for ones they enjoy. "Deep Fun", an activity packet for the Unitarian Universalist youth organization, lists a number of exceptionally good ones (www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/deepfun/index.shtml).
7. With luck, your mixer will go well. Make sure you clean up afterwards. Thank your coordinators and everyone who came!
8. You may want to make the mixer a regular event every semester. If so, try and make a committee that will take on that responsibility, and possibly work on other intergroup affairs.

Secular Holiday Activities

    In much the same way that Hanukkah isn't really an important holiday, but Jews make a big deal due to its proximity to Christmas, freethinkers often get the urge to celebrate minor holidays and anniversaries. As you can see on our List of Secular Holidays (http://secularstudents.org/node/2590), we encourage students to find excuses to party all year round, not just on the two major humanist holidays (Darwin Day and the National Day of Reason). More ideas can be found at http://secularseasons.org.


 

Craft Night

                Although this may require out-of-pocket funds for craft supplies, it's a really fun way to foster companionship. You can, for instance, make Flying Spaghetti Monster and Darwin figurines, color in an evolutionary timeline, or (for Nietzsche's birthday) make and wear giant walrus-handlebar mustaches. A supplement is to have some form of audiovisual entertainment running concurrently, such as episodes of Mr. Diety or Monty Python, which will help include those who aren't feeling particularly crafty. Refreshments can include cider, popcorn, cookies, and other treats.





Coming-Out Party/Rally

                "We're here, we're godless, get used to it!" Okay, so the slogan needs work, but that message of pride and forthrightness is something that the atheist community needs to promote. A unique and attention-grabbing holiday activity is to hold a coming-out event, wherein both open and closeted freethinkers can have an opportunity to stand up and voice their non-belief, their experience in rejecting religion, why the world needs reason today, and any other topic close to their hearts.

                This can be done in a variety of formats. For instance, if you want something small yet affirmative, you can set up a soapbox between or after classes for people to orate upon. Read passages from famous freethinkers (Twain, Ingersoll), and promote your group. If you'd prefer something possibly more complex, but more powerful and incendiary, consider holding a rally or parade for nonbelievers. This can be especially powerful in the aftermath of a bias incident against freethinkers, either locally or nationally. (For more information on rallies, see our resource page at http://secularstudents.org/node/2587.)

                This can also serve as a great pretext for a party, either combined with the above activities or on its own. Think about including activities from a Superstition Bash (http://secularstudents.org/node/2531).





Good Deeds / Random Acts of Kindness


                These can, of course, be done individually and at any time, but doing them as a group for a secular holiday both promotes your group and increases fellowship amongst members. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination: work at a soup kitchen, pick up litter, perform on the street for charity, or go to a blood drive on the National Day of Reason (http://secularstudents.org/node/2542). If your members can do it while wearing group or freethinking t-shirts or buttons, all the better!





Brunch / Picnic


                Just have a number of people come together to lounge, talk, and ingest delicious comestibles. This can be a fun, low-key introduction for new or potential members. When planning, be sure that you have access to a suitable location (i.e. one that you can easily clean up), as well as appropriate supplies (tables, chairs, plasticware). Food can be brought by designated members, or in a potluck manner (although this is difficult for those without kitchens).





Proclamation / Resolution

                A great way to increase visibility for freethinkers (as well as obtain media coverage) is to get a local body (mayor, town council, student union) to issue a resolution or proclamation celebrating a humanist holiday. Generally, it is best to do this for a holiday that both freethinkers and the non-religious can celebrate, such as Church-State Separation Week, Darwin Day, or Religious Freedom Day.

                A sample Mayoral Proclamation for State-Church Separation is available at Freedom from Religion Foundation's website (http://ffrf.org/timely/proclamations/sc_month.php). The ACLU offers some guidelines on passing a community resolution, although this may be more intensive than you'll need for a non-political resolution (http://aclu.org/safefree/resources/17287res20030520.html).





Debate/Speaker/Panel

                While these may be a little dry for a holiday, properly speaking, they can be a good way to mark a minor holiday, especially if your speaker's topic relates to the theme of that day. The SSA has a number of resources for putting together these types of events. Our Speakers and Debate Resource Guide (http://secularstudents.org/node/2538) lists both our resources and those hosted elsewhere. For ideas on how to host an Ask-an-Atheist panel, take a look at that activity packet (http://secularstudents.org/node/2537).


            


Excessive Amounts of Pie

                This works best for Pi Day (March 14th), but it takes some planning to obtain supplies and make food. You can divide specific tasks among members (driving, getting supplies, clean-up), but I can't stress enough how much fun it is to bake communally! Be sure to make different varieties (from apple to banana kiwi) and to take into account everyone's dietary concerns (such as vegan or lactose-intolerant).

                This theoretically can be combined with bake sale; its unlikely you'll make much, but it can be a very effective way to promote your group. If you're baking for group consumption, consider making 3.14 pies, or if you're feeling ambitious, 31.4.

Secular Principles Pinky Swear

Planning Time	A few weeks before end of semester
Group Size	Any
Staff #	1+
Event Date	Early (suggested)

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Suggested Walkthrough
  




 

- Activity Overview: You may have heard of the ‘purity ring’ phenomenon, wherein Christian teenagers swear to maintain their virginity until marriage, and to show this wear silver rings. It’s a truly awful idea – it takes a controlling attitude towards teenage (especially female) sexuality, it discourages comprehensive sex education, it is directly tied to unsafe sexual practices, and, of course, it doesn’t work.

              In response to this, a  group of students came up with the Secular Principles Pinky Swear. It is NOT a pledge in the traditional sense – students don’t pledge fidelity to any dogma or philosophy, or even to stay secularists. Rather, they pledge commitment to secular principles of free inquiry and honesty. This is an amusingly ironic take on the original, and can serve as an activity to (in)formally induct members.             

- Planning timeframe:  The affirmation itself comes right out of the box – all you need to do is wait for shipping. If you want to do this as an ‘induction’ of sorts, you’ll want to plan this a few weeks before the end of the semester.


- Coordinating: All you really need are students to swear in. You may want someone to officiate by giving the oath and handing out rings.

- Material requirements: Again, everything comes in the box. It’s available for free, plus an $8 shipping fee, at http://www.secularpinkyswear.org/groups.php. This requires a  credit card or PayPal account; your student union treasurer may have one available for student groups to use.

 

Suggested Walkthrough

1. Order the box.
2. Open.
3. Swear in the members who are interested.
4. Done!

Service Projects

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough
  
- Activity Overview: Service is something that every group should get involved in. After all, if we’re going to call ourselves humanists, we have to put humans first and help others out. Additionally, service projects build group solidarity, improve the image of freethinkers on and off campus, and make you eligible for awards from your school and the SSA. While this doesn’t cover every kind of service project, it’s intended as a generic guide to the important steps.    
- Planning timeframe: Before your semester starts, take a look at the school calendar. The farther you plan in advance, the higher your chance of success, and the better your ‘claim’ to the date and the idea. Your choice of date will be affected by a number of factors, but be sure to ask yourself what timeframe you want for the project: will it be a fixed length of time (e.g. a fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders), or something ongoing, perhaps regular (e.g. cleaning up a highway)?
              Furthermore, if your project is complex or controversial, planning far in advance is essential; it will allow you to work out problems, and prevent a hostile administration from shutting it down.
- Coordinating: A successful project must build off of the cohesion and skills already present in your group. You’ll also need to assess the number of members who will commit to the project. The fewer who can or will, the more work for the rest, the more you have to scale it back, or the more likely you’ll need to abandon it altogether. Don’t embark on something too big and complex!
- Material requirements: Of course, this will vary widely on the project you pick, but in general you’ll need a banner to advertise your group, as well as literature to explain the project, your group, or freethought more generally. If you’re collecting money, see if you can borrow a cashbox from your student union.
- Cooperating Organizations: Most universities have service-oriented groups that are always looking for volunteers; consider assisting in one of their projects, especially if you have a small or new group. In any case, you should look at them and their activities to make sure you aren’t duplicating their mission!
              A long list of secular issues groups, as well as non-religious, non-proselytizing charities, can be found under Non-Religious Charities & Non-Profits section. For any organization you work for, be sure beforehand that they need your help. That is, you want to make sure that the organization exists, that it needs help, and that what you donate will go to the cause itself. You can investigate charities and how they spend money at www.charitynavigator.org .
              Finally, talk to local freethought groups, both off-campus and at other schools. They may be able to support you materially, physically, or organizationally.
Suggested Walkthrough
1. Your first goal is to choose a message and goal. What impact, big or small, should your project have on the campus/community/region/country? Think about recent events and capitalize on them. Your goal should be realistic, based on the size of your membership and their commitment.
1. Keep in mind that, as a freethought group, you may be judged differently from others, and your project may have political consequences.
2. Delegate tasks to members based on their skills, talents, and capacities. Members should take on tasks that they are competent and familiar with. Be realistic, but don’t be afraid to let people take on a challenge; this may well encourage them to take on a leadership role in the future.
3. Find out from your student activities department if there are restrictions on collecting money or supplies. Clear these before going further.
4. Advertise your project to your campus. Let them know what you’re doing and why; when doing so, think of your target audience in terms of your project’s goals.  Write a press release to gain media attention. See your Group Running Guide for more specific tips and techniques.
1. If your project is controversial, or intended to help an organization deemed objectionable by some (e.g., Planned Parenthood), be prepared to take criticism and respond to it. But don’t get bogged down in defending yourself.
5. If you’re tabling, have information available about your project, your group, and freethought. A group leader should be around when tabling, or staffing an event.
6. When your project is over, be sure to thank your volunteers, coordinators, donors and participants!

   If you’re going to be handling cash, there are some important things to keep in mind. You’ll need a cashbox, which you can borrow from student activities or purchase, as well as someone trustworthy to handle it. Decide beforehand what forms of payment you can take – usually cash, sometimes checks, only rarely credit. Think about using a laptop for people to access PayPal. Customers may ask for a receipt – you can get a receipt book at an office supply store. This can help you inventory so nothing gets lost!

7. After your project, make an inventory of the money or supplies you’ve collected. Did you reach your goal? If not, or if you were very successful, you may consider extending the length of your project.
8. After getting the money and supplies you’ve collected, follow-up make sure that they get to the organization you’re working for. If they sit around in storage, the project hasn’t made any impact!
9. Write a press release or an article about the project. It should include information on how successful it was, and should highlight that it was organized by a freethought group.
1. Let your student activities department know about your project – some give recognition to outstanding service projects by campus groups.
10. Contact the SSA’s campus organizer (organizer@secularstudents.org), and let her know about your project. With her, you can work out what and why the event was successful, and how to make it better in the future. You can also apply for a Best Award, which can nab you a plaque and check!

SkeptiCamp

Planning Time	1 month
Group Size	10+
Staff #	4 - 5 (plus non-members)
Event Date	Anytime

• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough
  

- Activity Overview: Once upon a time, a group of engineers and tech geeks realized that going to ‘official’ conventions and conferences was expensive, inconvenient, and offered minimal user participation. Thus began Barcamps, user-generated conferences which were organized and implemented by the people who attended them. Any person with an interesting topic and yen to discuss it with others about it could create and present their own version of a TED Talk (www.ted.com).

              The concept has been duplicated for freethinking folk in the SkeptiCamp. Instead of discussing technology, SkeptiCamps focus on critical thinking, science & pseudoscience, religion, and other topics of interest to skeptics. Hosting one is a great way to connect with likeminded people in your area, especially those from off-campus, and those who may be reticent to join a freethought organization.      

- Planning timeframe:  The first Barcamp was put together in a week, but don’t count on things coming together as quickly. That said, this is supposed to be a loose, informal event compared to official conventions and lectures. A good lead time is to start planning about a month in advance.

- Coordinating: Organizing a SkeptiCamp is supposed to be open-source and participatory. If things are working correctly, those in charge shouldn’t be doing too much – their job is to set things up, and wind them correctly so the event runs like clockwork. Additionally, the people who do sign up to lead should select their duties on ad hoc basis, building on the skills and materials they can contribute. They should include students and non-students, long-time skeptic activists and relative newcomers. Though this can seem unwieldy, in many ways it is a strength of the format.

- Material requirements: The venue is critical to ensuring a good event. It needs to accommodate all the participants, but in a way that allows for interaction (huge auditoriums or theaters won’t work!). It should also have a projector and wi-fi (on many campuses this is password-protected - see how that works). As university students, you have a great advantage in being able to reserve space on campus at little or no cost.

The next most critical element is a webpage, which will promote the event, enable coordination, and help you obtain the other things you need. Skepticamp.org allows you to upload your event, and puts it in a template that aids in planning.

              Optional but helpful materials include food and t-shirts. These will likely require sponsors, contributors who donate time and money for an ad on your t-shirts.

- Cooperating Organizations: You want to aggressively market this to as many like-minded groups and organizations as you can. For this reason, it is heavily recommended that you look to skeptic, atheist, and scientific circles in the community and at other schools. When you think about what topics will be of interest, keep in mind that you can bring wildly heterodox speakers: a cleric to discuss religion in the light of science; a detective to discuss forensic science; a teacher on God in the classroom; a magician on the techniques of her craft, etc.


Note: Most of the following was synthesized from a few sources. Nine Steps to Organizing Your First SkeptiCamp (barcamp.org/OrganizeALocalSkeptiCamp ) was particularly valuable. Another guide, although intended for Barcamps, is also helpful (www.cleverclevergirl.com/?p=10). Finally, this slideshow highlights some critical elements for any event (www.slideshare.net/tojulius/25-signs-your-event-sucks-presentation ).

 

Suggested Walkthrough  


1. The first thing to do is to propose a SkeptiCamp. Wherever local skeptics gather, in person or online, put the idea to them. You’ll quickly get an idea of who wants to come and who can chip in. One person, ideally one who is detail-oriented and a good delegator, should become the lead person.
2. Settle on a time and place, at least a month in advance. As mentioned, students have a leg up on securing space. A suitable time should take into account academic calendars, holidays, and other skeptic events, such as conferences. Once you announce a time, stick with it: it is much easier to change venue rather than date!
1. While some SkeptiCamps are multiday, multi-room events, short and focused ones can be easier and more enjoyable. A concentrated event, where all talks are well-attended, will be much better than one where attendance and interaction is sparse.
3. When booking a venue, try to reserve a long swath of time - if you can't fill the whole thing, don't worry. You're much worse off if you have a lot of interest and no place to hold it!
1. Depending on your expected attendance and building layout, one possibility is to have a common room & breakout rooms. This will allow multiple events to go on simultaneously. However, you should vary the length of sessions throughout the day (begin with medium-length ones, move on to lightning rounds, and finish with a longer keynote address).
2. If you have a mutli-room format, you'll need to make sure someone is in the common room at all times to direct latecomers and the curious.
   
4. Your event page needs to display, to all potential participants, a list of attendees, organizers, sponsors/donations, and available speaking slots. It should prominently display a contact address so those who want to sign up can do so. Check this address and update frequently!
1. Allocating speaking slots can be done on a first-come, first-serve basis, with the exception of specific ones (introductions & keynotes) that ought to be reserved for certain subjects or special guests. Make sure each slot indicates the amount of time available. Encourage experienced and developing skeptics to present! You can negotiate a comfortable and compelling mix, but avoid micromanaging.
2. Organizers should sign up for specific jobs – getting a venue, serving lunch, running wi-fi and technical issues, etc.If tasks haven't been taken, it's up to the lead person to delegate them - these assignments should be specific and limited.
3. A specific section should allow people and groups to make donations of needed materials. The more specific and discrete, the better – nobody knows how to donate ‘Lunch’, but surely someone can chip in ’30 bottles of soda’.

   Advertising is a critical skill that all groups will need to use at some point. Standard techniques include flyering, tabling, and chalking. More information on these is available in the Group Running Guide (http://www.secularstudents.org/node/183), and we also have specific information on dealing with the media, such as writing press releases and doing interviews (http://www.secularstudents.org/media).

4. Promote, promote, promote! Do this as soon as details are in order, and up until the event itself. Approach promotion from several different angles, and look to reach different people. Aim to reach people on the campus, local, and state levels.  Techniques can include:
   
1. Posting on skeptic forums.
2. Going to local meetings and talking with members there.
3. Send a notice to bloggers, both to announce it and to liveblog.
4. If there’s a prominent freethinker in your community, see if they’d be interested in attending or speaking.
5. Use social networking sites – Facebook, Meetup, Eventful, Upcoming
5. Although attendance will hopefully be free, you'll want to get an idea of the number of participants beforehand. Wufoo.com allows you to set up a registration form online, as well as create a survery to send to participants afterward.
   
6. Depending on the cost of the event, you may need to find sponsors. These individuals or groups will contribute money or materials to the event, generally with the expectation that they will get some promotion out of the event. Sponsors help keep your event free, or as low-cost as possible. Once your details are in place and you have a rough idea of how much money you need, start looking for sponsors.
   
1. One of the generally accepted ways to do this is to create a Skepticamp t-shirt, which has the event’s logo on front and the sponsors’ name and logo on the back.  

   Money – the lifeblood of capitalist society.  The major way to get some is to ask the finance board of your student union, something that your treasurer should plan for and execute at the appropriate time (early in the semester, or the previous semester). Also think about holding fundraisers, and look to outside sources, such as local freethought groups and SSA grants. More information is available in your Group Running Guide (www.secularstudents.org/node/204).

2. Look for sponsors and vendors in your local area – new groups especially want to get their name out. National groups may be able to contribute shirts, buttons, or other swag, and at the very least can give you literature to display (as does SSA). The Skeptic Society (skeptic.org) and the James Randi Educational Fund (randi.org) have been known to support SkeptiCamps.
• Speakers are the lifeblood of your event – they carry the show, as it were. Keeping your event spontaneous, interesting, and unpredictable means recruiting a variety of speakers, and in particular supporting new speakers. Give them prompts for interesting talks, and emphasize that they need not be complex lectures – a structured discussion will be very well received! Be sure to check in with speakers in the weeks leading up to the event – make sure that they have a defined focus, have practiced public speaking, and will show up.
• The day of your event, make sure that everything is set up, and that the schedule is on display. This means keeping discussions to their allotted time, moving tangential debates outside. Encourage civil and polite conversation in talks. Try as hard as possible to break down barriers between speakers and listeners – make this a truly interactive experience!
1. Set up a table at the event to promote your group with information and signups. Encourage other groups to bring their information and literature as well.
2. Try and locate a printer or copier nearby. Some people will need to make printed materials, or will need to make more of them.
   
• You want to be able to collect content from discussions for later dissemination. This can be done several ways. People should be encouraged to liveblog their impressions as it goes on. Prominently display twitter hashtags and flickr tags for people to use! If possible, videotape or record audio of discussions to be put on your event page later.
• Afterwards, thank everyone for participating. Thank material contributors in writing.
1. Meet with other organizers for a post-mortem discussion; critically assess how things went. You can now make preparations for your next event! 
   

Soul Auction

Planning Time	2 months
Group Size	15+
Staff #	6-12
Event Date	Anytime
• Activity Overview
• Planning Timeframe
• Coordinating
• Material Requirements
• Cooperating Organizations
• Suggested Walkthrough
- Activity Overview: Both variations of this event revolve around the idea of auctioning off group members. The first iteration sells their "souls", which must be won back by a challenge set by the buyer; the second allows the buyer to send the purchased to a religious event of their choosing. (Note that these are not necessarily exclusive.) Make sure that both buyers and bought know the parameters beforehand (i.e. nothing degrading).

    This is intended to be a fundraiser for your group, as well as something of a publicity stunt. Key to this is maximizing its impact; you may wish to roll this into an evening with another event you’re throwing, such as a FSM dinner . Regardless, to ensure you make money and get noticed you’ll want to attract anywhere from forty to two hundred people, which can vary based on the size of your school and venue.

- Planning timeframe:  Get started at least two months ahead of time. Give yourself more time if this is going to be a major fundraiser, or if it will be in conjunction with another event.
- Coordinating: Unlike some fundraisers, this activity can be kept entirely in-house, since it will only be your group members who will sell their souls (unless you can convince a professor to join in). You’ll need from 6 to 10 volunteers to sell their souls, and the people you select should be different enough from one another to present your group as a diverse organization, as well as to attract a wide range of soul-purchasers.
The tasks of advertising, securing your venue, getting volunteers, and collecting money can be parceled out between 2 to 4 coordinators. You’ll also need 1 charismatic MC/ auctioneer, who doesn’t necessarily have to be a coordinator but cannot be selling their soul.
As always, group leaders need to periodically check in to make sure everything is running smoothly!
- Material requirements: You can advertise for this event any way you choose. As for the event itself, you’ll want your group’s banner prominently displayed, as well as literature about your group. The stage for the auction can be decorated as simply or as gaudily as you want. You’ll also require a cashbox to hold the money you raise – you may be able to borrow one from a student union Treasurer, or the student activities department. 
- Cooperating Organizations: Depending on how seriously they take themselves, religious groups on campus may be either offended or amused. Those in the latter category may be willing to collectively purchase a soul or two, especially if you are focusing on the "send an atheist to church" variant.
 
Suggested Walkthrough 
1. Two to three months ahead of time, you’ll need to designate your coordinators, and to solicit volunteers. (Don’t worry if you need to change volunteers later on – unless there is campus-wide interest in that person’s soul, these events don’t really focus on headliners.) Determine whether you want to combine this with another event, and if so which one.
1. If you can get a well-known person on campus to donate their soul, it can be a big draw. Sympathetic professors, or even local supporters, may be interested, although asking people outside your group means you should plan and ask further in advance. The SSA might be able to help you find a local soul-seller - don't be afraid to ask!
   
2. As soon as these details are in place, you need to secure an appropriate venue. Ideally, it should have a stage visible to the number of people you’re expecting. Check to see if it has a podium that your MC can use, although this is optional.  If the venue is large, you probably want to make sure you have an audio system.

   Advertising is a critical skill that all groups will need to use at some point. Standard techniques include flyering, tabling, and chalking. More information on these is available in the Group Running Guide (www.secularstudents.org/node/183), and we also have specific information on dealing with the media, such as writing press releases and doing interviews (www.secularstudents.org/media).

3. Advertise, advertise, advertise! Since this is a fundraiser, attendance at this event may well determine what other events and activities you can do. See the Group Running Guide for tips and ideas. You should also send a press release about two weeks before your event - the SSA can help you get the word out at www.secularstudents.org/media . 
   
1. Although they won’t be co-hosting, let religious groups or the chaplaincy know about your event – they may want to come as a group, or at least let their members know about it.
4. About two weeks before the event, confirm that your volunteers can be there. The whole thing should only take between one and two hours, but be sure to schedule how the auction will proceed, especially if you’re combining it with another event.
5. The day of, be there early to set up.

   If you’re going to be handling cash, there are some important things to keep in mind. You’ll need a cashbox, which you can borrow from student activities or purchase, as well as someone trustworthy to handle it. Decide beforehand what forms of payment you can take – usually cash, sometimes checks, only rarely credit. Think about using a laptop for people to access PayPal. Customers may ask for a receipt – you can get a receipt book at an office supply store. This can help you inventory so nothing gets lost!

6. The auction should mostly run itself.  The MC should introduce the group and explain how the auction will proceed.  The MC will introduce the soul to be sold, the soul struts itself, and then the MC takes bids. Make sure a coordinator takes note of who buys which souls, and for how much. The winner(s) should be directed to pay whoever is in charge of the cashbox then and there.
7. Dispensing the souls can be fun and entertaining in itself. You may want to have the winner come up on stage and discuss what they will do with the soul – if they are sending it to church, for instance, which one, and when. Some groups set it up such that the person whose soul was bought has to do something to get it back – complete a dare, for instance (make sure your volunteers know and agree to this!).  Another option is to have your volunteers 'earn their souls back' through community service or volunteer efforts, perhaps chosen by the buyer.  This can also change into a date auction, but where’s the fun in that?
8. After you’ve been paid and both purchaser and purchased have come to agreeable terms, the auction can be wrapped up. As always, pack up and clean up, and be sure to thank your volunteers and coordinators!
9. Since you're making money off of this, and buyers like to get what they pay for, a coordinator needs to follow-up on the auction agreements and make sure they were fulfilled. Unsatisfied buyers may need to be refunded! If everything has gone smoothly, it wouldn't hurt to send the buyer(s) a thank-you note.