About once a year, the Secular Student Alliance has a conference. At these conferences students exchange best practices, get inspired, and connect with the larger secular movement.  Although empowering student leaders and activists is the core purpose of our conferences, non-students are also very welcome.

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2009

The 2009 SSA conference will be held August 7 - 9, 2009, at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, sponsored by Students for Freethought.  Ohio State is the largest university in the U.S. (over 50,000 students!) and is located in the 15th-largest city in the country (but you'd never guess it from the friendly atmosphere). 

Registration is open!

Conference Schedule Now Available!

Join PZ Myers at the Creation Museum!

Travel Grants: No Longer Available

Registration Rates (Register Now!)
Student SSA Member: $25
Student non-member: $75 (Join the SSA and save - student membership is only $10/year!)
Non-student SSA Member: $125
Non-student non-member: $200  (Join the SSA and save - non-student membership is only $35/year!)

Conference Housing
Housing is available on the Ohio State University campus in multi-occupancy dorm rooms (quads).  Bed linens, towels and soap are all included, but all meals are on your own.  Housing is $23 per individual per night.  A very limited number of single rooms are available for $52/night.  All dorm rooms have A/C.

If you prefer not to stay in the dorms, some near-by hotels are the Blackwell and the Red Roof Inn.

Program Highlights
Our keynote speaker at this year's conference will be renowned blogger PZ Myers!

We'll also feature a full series of activist training, workshops on group-running, and presentations from national organizations, published authors and more.

Here are just a few of the sessions we have lined up for you:

• An Optional Field Trip to the Creation Museum with PZ Myers!
  
• Dedicated networking time for you to meet and learn from other student leaders
• Peer-to-peer problem solving to help with your group's struggles
• Hear from the winners of this year's Best Awards
• Learn to collaborate with other secular groups in your area
• How to find funding for your group
• Discover new opportunities for your group and its members
• Freethought trivia
• Cooperating and collaborating with religious moderates
• Building a real sense of community
• And the ubiquitous "More!"

See the complete schedule at www.secularstudents.org/conference/schedule.

 

Program Schedule
The official conference will run on the following dates and times:

Friday, August 7, 2009:
             10am - 3pm - Visit the Creation Museum with PZ Myers
                                  (optional, additional registration required)

Friday, August 7, 2009:
             7pm - 11pm

Saturday, August 8, 2009:
             9am - 11pm

Sunday, August 9, 2009:
             9am - 2pm

Click here for the complete schedule!

Getting To Columbus and the Ohio State University

Columbus is in the center of Ohio at the intersection of Interstates I-71 and I-70.  Go here for maps and directions around the area! 

Air Travel
Port Columbus (CMH) is serviced by several major airlines including Southwest (which does not appear on popular sites such as Travelocity or Orbitz - check their site separately for deals!).  Getting from the airport to campus during the summer is often easiest by taking a taxi ($22-30) or one of the several shuttle services. 

Bus Travel
Columbus has a Greyhound terminal downtown.  It is a quick local bus trip from the Greyhound station to OSU's campus on the #2 High Street bus.

Local Transportation
Columbus has a local transit system, with fares of $1.50 to get most places around town.  Check out their site to find out how to get around: www.cota.com

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Please read about our past conferences.