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Secular shorts: Are you in the Columbus, OH area? Come visit our office at our Open House on June 17th. More info. We just got back from the American Humanist Association's conference in Tempe, AZ! eMpirical contributor and Reed Secular Alliance founder Leslie Zukor writes about the conference in a four part series. The First Ever Atheist Film Festival is June 28th in San Francisco. Check it out! Contact us! Call us toll free at 1-877-842-9474. You can also email us at ssa@secularstudents.org. We are always happy to hear from you and answer any questions or concerns! What do you think? This is your eNewsletter and we are always updating and changing to fit your needs, so please let us know what you think of our new format! Email enews@secularstudents.org with any suggestions, ideas, or comments. eMpirical Team
Elizabeth R.A. Liddell, August E. Brunsman IV, Hemant Mehta, Bjorn Watland, Landon J. Winkler and Jonathan Sussman.
| Introduction The summer may be upon us, but we’re still hard at work at the Secular Student Alliance. Our affiliates have just wrapped up a spring term of awesome events, which we’re excited to share here with you! We also have news about our upcoming Annual Conference, the Best Awards and more. Bring on the summer!
 The SSA’s annual conference will be held from August 7 – 9 in Columbus, OH. You won’t want to miss PZ Myers, “Friendly Atheist Hemant Mehta, FFRF’s Dan Barker, the SSA’s own Campus Organizer Lyz Liddell, or any of the chances to meet and learn from student group leaders from across the country. It’s a great opportunity that you don’t want to miss out on. Register today!  Is your secular student group the best? Did your group go on an amazing spring break service trip? Does your website get hundreds of hits a week? Has your club been covered by a major newspaper? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions - or perhaps you did something with even more spiff - then you should apply for a Best Award. "Part of what is giving the movement momentum is the proliferation of groups on college campuses. The Secular Student Alliance now has 146 chapters, up from 42 in 2003" wrote Laurie Goodstein in The New York Times on April 26th, 2009. Read more...  KEARNY, N.J. – The teacher who made headlines in 2007 over his classroom proselytizing is again trying to use taxpayer dollars to promote his religious agenda. According to Secular Student Alliance board member Matthew LaClair, Mr. David Paszkiewicz attempted to utilize school funds and equipment to promote a student group field trip to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY. The Secular Student Alliance sent this press release on June 5, 2009. Iowa State University's Atheist and Agnostic Society heard about an upcoming campus visit by a traveling Christian preacher of intolerant views. Rather than organize a loud, angry protest (or getting arrested!), they chose to organize a (Mostly) Silent Protest, inviting several other campus groups who support tolerance and diversity. Anastasia Bodnar, president of ISUAAS, wrote this article for the group's blog. Read more... After hearing about a Spring Break service trip at the SSA’s 2008 conference, Students for Freethought chair Ashley Paramore decided that her group needed to get in on the action!  On Friday, April 10, 2009, about 100 people gathered at the McConomy Auditorium of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to hear Hemant Mehta, more commonly known as the “Friendly Atheist, speak about his journey towards non-belief, the infamous eBay auction, his book, and his promotion of ‘friendly atheism.’ This article was written by Shalini Sehkar, one of the three Leadership Officers of the Carnegie Mellon University Atheists, Humanists & Agnostics. Read more...  Andrew Mickael is an atheist student at a religious Houston high school. But when the theology leaks into the science classes, he is adamant that replacing real-world explanations with appeals to God is inappropriate and even unethical. Article by Leslie A. Zukor. Read more...  The Alliance of Happy Atheists just started in February, and by April was holding meetings with up to 90 students in attendance! Their campus paper highlighted the group's success.
This story originally appeared in the Oregon Daily Emerald (the independent student newspaper at the University of Oregon) on 5/22/09, and is used with permission. The Alliance of Happy Atheists is an affiliate of the Secular Student Alliance.
Article by Ivar Vong I, for the Oregon Daily Emerald.
Read more... An "Ask-an-Atheist" panel is a great way to educate your community about nontheist beliefs. MSU Mankato's Campus Agnostics and Atheists caught the attention of their university paper with their event.
This story originally appeared in the Minnesota State University, Mankato Reporter on 4/23/2009, and is used by permission. The Campus Agnostics and Atheists at MSU Mankato are an affiliate of the Secular Student Alliance.
Article by Matt Sauer, staff writer for the Reporter.
Read more... The National Student has discovered that a death threat made during an atheist event in Leeds is the latest example of ongoing opposition and alleged prejudice towards atheist societies on campus. This article originally appeared in the National Student and is used with permission. Read more... The "Silver Ring Thing" has met its match: the American Humanist Association's "Secular Principles Pinky Swear!" It’s a direct challenge to dogmatic religious pledges, demonstrating how secular kids can have strong values rooted in reason. Help us spread the word! The United Coalition of Reason is delighted to announce an essay contest as part of our upcoming Good Without God campaign tied not only to a social movement but to a book that's being published in the fall. Please forward this message as widely as possible and help us unite the millions of voices of reason across the country. |
