Register today for the Secular Student Alliance 2009 Conference!

• Happy Hour and keynote speech with PZ Myers.
• "How to Debate" with Dan Barker.
• Meet the new Executive Director for the Secular Coalition for America.
• Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist.
• Solve your group's problems with advice from your peers.
• Meet and network with secular student group leaders from all over the country.
• And much more!

Sound like a great opportunity? It's the Secular Student Alliance's 2009 Conference! Events run from August 7 - 9, 2009 at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.

REGISTER NOW!

The conference is open to everyone, with significant discounts for SSA members. Housing is available on campus in single rooms ($52/night) or shared dorm space ($23/night), and you can register for housing right along with the conference. 

Registration Rates:

• Student SSA Member: $25
• Student non-member: $75
• Non-student SSA Member: $125
• Non-student non-member: $200

Join the SSA and save - student membership is only $10/year; non-students are only $35/year!

Prefer to pay by check?  Go to the registration page, print out the registration form and mail it to us at Secular Student Alliance, P.O. Box 2371, Columbus, OH 43216-2371.

We'll be posting more information about the conference on our website, so keep your eyes there for more information on our speakers, programs, and more.

Applications are now available for the 2008-09 Best Awards!
The deadline to apply is June 15, 2009 - don't miss your chance to apply!

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.

APPLY TODAY!

Iowa State’s Atheist & Agnostic Society: Don’t Tolerate Intolerance

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.

Our (Mostly) Silent Protest Against Tom Short on Wednesday (15 April 2009) was a great success, thanks in part to the ISU LGBTA Alliance getting the message to their members. Campus Pastor Jim Shirbroun and Campus Minister Chris Hockley along with students from the Wesley Foundation of the Collegiate Methodist Church were also invited and attended the protest.

Tom Short is a professional traveling preacher who has a bit of a reputation for getting personal, for publicly singling out students for name-calling and condemnation. He seems to have tempered his speech a bit, but continues to preach intolerance of religions, cultures, lifestyles, etc. that do not match his.  Sadly, his views are far from unique. Happily, there are many people, Christian and otherwise, that do not agree. Instead, we value the similarities and differences that find in each other.

The idea for the protest was taken in part from discussions led by Chris at the Wesley Foundation’s Third Way Team meetings. The team’s goal is to organize rapid response to intolerance on campus, and to advocate a way of communication that isn’t adversarial. I followed their example in quickly organizing a respectful protest. It was only few hours between AAS member Tori Crum’s email to me with the information that Tom Short was on campus and the posting of a Facebook event for the protest.

Attendance from about 12pm to 4pm varied widely, peaking with perhaps 200 people as students stopped by between classes. It was hard to tell who was part of the protest, who was simply curious, and who was supporting Tom. AAS supplied both protesters and supporters of Tom with cardstock and crayons on which to express their own ideas. We also handed out quarter sheet flyers advertising our upcoming Your Choice, Our Voice event.

Some of the attendees didn’t stay silent, as was their right. Some attempted to engage Tom in debate, but these attempts often ended with Tom saying “stop distracting me”. Some members of the Alliance spoke out in favor of equality regarding to LGBT rights. There was also a young self-described Christian prophet who attempted to use humor and his skateboard as a counterpoint to Tom’s speech, but ended up being escorted away by police.

All in all, the members of the AAS that attended were quiet, choosing to converse among ourselves and fellow protesters, displaying our signs. A few (most notably biology major Tsadia Fisher) attempted to engage Tom in debate, using their knowledge of the bible to counter Tom’s examples, but the debate was not fruitful.

The day was a perfect example of the First Amendment in action - especially fitting because it was the day before the annual Feast on the First Amendment, at which AAS had a booth. Members of the Third Way Team had a letter to the editor published in the Daily on First Amendment Day: Find common ground and respectfully disagree (reprinted on the blog for posterity). Their recommendations for positive discourse are something we should all aspire to.

The silent protest was covered in the ISU Daily: Atheist and Agnostic Society protests pastor on campus (reprinted on the blog for posterity). The title of the article is misleading, as we were not protesting the man’s right to speak or even his presence on campus. We were simply showing that not everyone agrees with his interpretation of the bible, and that everyone (not just him) has a right to make their own interpretation and share their thoughts with others.

Tom Short discusses his view of the event on his website (reprinted on the blog for posterity). It’s interesting how different his view of the day is compared to my view of the day. What did you think? Comment (on the ISUAAS blog) with your own reaction to or story about this event.

Students for Freethought at OSU: Spring Break in New Orleans

 

I've always been one to get involved in some type of community service projects, AIDS or MS walks, or collecting canned goods. When I went to the American Humanist Association's conference with the Secular Student Alliance last year, I heard Ashley Carter from the University of Illinois Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers give a talk about her group's service trip to New Orleans with Campus Crusade for Christ. After listening for a while, I couldn't help but think to myself, “Why haven't we thought of that?'

Once back in Ohio, the planning started early. I began to develop a relationship with a Christian campus group, The Thomas Society, at Ohio State. After having doing multiple events with them, we created a good relationship, and they were happy to allow us to join in on their yearly spring break New Orleans service trip with their church.

The trip itself was amazing. On the way down to Louisiana, not many people knew each other, even within our own group. Thankfully, the 14-hour ride down on the church bus helped us to get to know a few people, or at least those sitting around us. Initially, everyone just kind talked amongst themselves, hanging out in their own little cliques. At the time, the majority of the members of the Thomas Society had no idea that they had an atheist/secular group tagging along (this wasn't a secret, but initially the people organizing the trip were the only ones aware).

The first night there, people were slowly starting to mingle with each other in their rooms. Conversations galore included questions such as, “Where are you from?,” “What's your major?,” or “What church/campus ministry are you a part of?” After being asked the latter by a couple of girls, I responded with the fearful, “Oh, I didn't come with a church – I came with my freethought/atheist group.” The girls were a little thrown, but genuinely interested. It was a great conversation starter. The fun conversations continued with other people as well - from our rooms, to the bus, to Bourbon St., to the worksite. Everyone was quite friendly about it, and curious. There was no real arguing or any type of hostility towards one other.

The group that came down to help consisted of about 60 people (50 of which were students), so we didn't have the opportunity to all work on one worksite (there were about 8 of them). We go to do a wide array of things, from tearing out old rotted cabinetry, scrubbing mold off walls, and chipping up vinyl tile to putting up drywall, building porches, working on roof trusses, putting up soffits, and much more! Most of the homes we worked on were old ones being repaired from Hurricane Katrina, but there was some new construction as well. The work itself was quite fun, but incredibly tiring. Seeing the final product, however, with what all you had accomplished, and knowing that you were helping either build a new home or getting someone out of their FEMA trailer was a great feeling.  Some students actually got to meet the families that they had helped!

While we were down in New Orleans, we didn't only spend time with the church group. We got the opportunity to go explore the French Quarter, and we even got to meet up with the University of Illinois Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers and a few members of the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association! It was really nice to be able to meet more people from the secular community across state lines.

Overall, the trip was simply amazing. Everyone who came had a great experience and has already been talking it up with other group members. It really brought our group closer together, and has motivated everyone to do more of this type of community service work. We're already in the early stages of planning the trip again for next year, as well as other, local service projects.

If anyone is interested in doing this type of trip, I'd highly recommend checking out the Secular Student Alliance’s Service Trip Activity Packet. It has tons of useful information that will help you and your group accomplish a very successful trip!

Hemant Mehta at Carnegie Mellon University

Despite the recent surge of best-selling books promoting atheism, atheists are often portrayed negatively in the popular press; and stories about grouchy atheists trying to win various lawsuits largely dominate popular perception of the non-religious demographic.

However, this was not the image of atheists presented on Friday, April 10, 2009, when 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.’

Hemant Mehta is the author of I Sold My Soul on eBay and the Friendly Atheist blog. He rose to national media attention after 'selling his soul' on eBay, in which he offered to attend place of worship of the highest bidder’s choice. His experiences at various churches made up a huge part of his book, and his blog was started to continue the discussion between atheists and Christians that started with the eBay auction.

Funding for Mehta’s travel, as well as advertising for the event, came from the Secular Student Alliance.  Mehta was the first speaker brought to campus by CMU’s Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics (AHA) group in cooperation with the SSA. The lecture was open to both students and members of the public, and members of freethought organizations from the Pittsburgh area were also in attendance.

The lecture began with Mehta’s transformation from a religious Jain to atheism as a teenager, and his curiosity about other religions (having never been in a church before the eBay auction). He also spoke about how his friendly and respectful engagement of theists led to civil discourse on both sides and a conversation that benefited - and continues to benefit - both atheists and theists. In a time where atheists stand divided on the best ways to engage religious believers, Mehta’s promotion of ‘friendly atheism’ is a timely calling to both dispel the negative stereotypes often held about atheists and to promote mutual understanding and discussion.

A reception followed where free food was served, a book-signing was held, and the conversation continued.  The impact of the ‘friendly atheism’ message was seen even at the reception as students from Christian groups happily mingled and engaged Mehta and AHA members in conversation.

The lecture helped make AHA’s name more widely known across the campus as a growing alternative to the religious groups. We also formed more alliances with other freethought groups in the area. A few students from the University of Pittsburgh also said that this event inspired them to try and start a group on their own campus – and that was indeed a sign that the event was a success!

This article was written by Shalini Sehkar, one of the three Leadership Officers of the Carnegie Mellon University Atheists, Humanists & Agnostics, as part of the requirements for a Secular Student Alliance Project Grant.

“That’s the Way God Made It:” Lessons from a High School Chemistry Teacher

By Leslie A. Zukor

“Why does a supersaturated solution of sodium acetate crystallize when heat is added?” one student asked in Chemistry class.  What seemed to be a routine question about straightforward science was anything but straightforward for the students at St. Thomas Episcopal High School in Houston, Texas.  

“That’s the way God made it,” the teacher quipped, avoiding the question.  While the instructor was obviously joking, it underscored a concern about the role of religion in a science classroom.  This was Honors Chemistry, and here a teacher was appealing to divine sanction in what was supposed to be a course about the chemical building blocks of life.

“My friends and I are very serious about the field of science,” explains Andrew Mickael, a 16-year-old St. Thomas student.  Mickael is the son of a Nuclear Engineer, and many of his peers are the offspring of scientists themselves.  And given how seriously the students take this field of study, “this answer was simply unacceptable to us.”

While some may dismiss this as a glib comment, this is not the first time that the teacher has appealed to God to explain the world.  Mickael’s experience proves instructive; “One time we were studying about lattice structures in molecules, and she said that they were a miracle from God.”  In short, “everything is structured so perfectly that you [can’t] refute Creation.”

In addition to being serious about Chemistry, Andrew Mickael is also an atheist.  Mickael lost his faith last summer, during his quest to find out more about the world.  “I did a lot of research on other religions as well as atheism,” Andrew remarks.  “I finally made the transition to atheist, because, [evaluated] through...reason and logic, God was impossible.”

After becoming an atheist, Andrew has been outspoken about the importance of scientific reason:  “We will not just simply accept this,” he explains.  And to prove a point, he wrote, “That’s the way God made it,” in response to a question on a homework assignment.  Since the teacher didn’t notice, Mickael intends to have his father complain to the principal.

Regardless of the outcome of Mickael’s complaint, St. Thomas, as a religious school, is permitted to teach about God.  However, when a teacher shirks his or her responsibility to explain chemical processes in a science class, there are ethical ramifications.  An instructor is supposed to help students grapple with complexity, not to appeal to a divine being.

In the words of Andrew Mickael, “The teacher has shown to the students that answering a science question in a religious manner is somehow ‘okay.’ I see it as only another statement that will put more tension between believers and non-believers, something that we could all do without.”  And St. Thomas teachers would do better to leave religion in theology class.

Leslie A. Zukor is a junior Anthropology major Reed College in Portland, Oregon.  While at Reed, Leslie has started the Reed Secular Alliance, more information about which can be found at http://rsasecular.wordpress.com.  Her hobbies include squirrel photography, baseball, and writing for various publications.

Atheist Appeal: University of Oregon’s Alliance of Happy Atheists

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. 
Article by Ivar Vong I, for the Oregon Daily Emerald.

The Alliance of Happy Atheists is an affiliate of the Secular Student Alliance.

AHA students countering campus proselytizers. Oregon Daily Emerald PHOTO/Ivar Vong I

Standing outside the EMU Amphitheatre, University freshman Greg Kirby holds a white sign. It reads, "Ask an Atheist Anything." Kirby, the vice president of the recently formed Alliance of Happy Atheists student group, discusses religion with people as they pass by, while promoting the group's weekly Thursday meetings.

A group of eight organizers has been meeting since January, but has only hosted public meetings since April. On April 10, 90 students gathered for AHA's first meeting.

Lucy Gubbins, the group's recently elected president, says the group's goal is not to be anti-religious. Instead, the group is focused on being courteous, tolerant, and supporting atheism and atheists.

"I think the Alliance of Happy Atheists creates a community for people to come to," said Gubbins, a University freshman. "I think it's a wonderful social atmosphere. I think people really feel that they can be honest, and they can really can talk about their struggles, and I think that's the most important thing."

A meeting of the Alliance of Happy Atheists. Oregon Daily Emerald PHOTO/Ivar Vong I

Gubbins has been instrumental in the group's success this year. She re-energized the "UO Alliance of Happy Atheists!" Facebook group originally formed by Jeff Kline. Gubbins and Kline started holding weekly meetings with Kirby, Megan Littlejohn, Niels Goossens, Kendra Taylor, Simon Sanchez and Matt Brauer to establish the group's core concepts. The Facebook group grew from 19 to over 170 members.

The group applied to be a recognized ASUO group but was denied. The ASUO explained that the group must exist for six months before it can gain official recognition. "The ASUO hasn't let us use any kinds of materials," Gubbins said. "It's like they don't even want us to be a group."

The lack of recognition poses a problem for AHA. Unable to reserve rooms for meetings, the group has appealed to ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz, who helps make University room reservations. "I'm happy to sign off on rooms for them because it's important to create a place on campus for everybody," Dotters-Katz said.

Answers from Atheists: MSU Mankato’s Campus Agnostics and Atheists

This story originally appeared in the Minnesota State University, Mankato Reporter on 4/23/2009, and is used by permission. 
Article by Matt Sauer, staff writer for the Reporter.  You can read the original article on the Reporter's website.

Atheists Hit with Death Threats

This story originally appeared in The National Student (The independent, free, national student newspaper of the United Kingdom) on 5/12/09, and is used by permission.


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.

During an event held between April 19th - 25th called ‘Rationalist Week 09’ organised by Leeds University Atheist Society and billed as ‘the country’s largest atheist festival’ a member of the society allegedly received a face to face death threat.

It is said the student, who wished to remain anonymous, was threatened while patrolling outside the festival tent at night. The victim in question has decided not to go to the police, but police in Leeds are now investigating vandalism that also occurred during the event.
This is the second death threat received by the society, the last one being made by university’s Muslim society member’s state. They believe that this most recent threat may have also been made by the same people.

The previous death threat was made because the Leeds University Atheist Society wanted to show material in a debate about free speech that was deemed offensive to Islam, in this case the infamous Danish cartoons.

News of the death threat and vandalism in Leeds came on the same day that the Southampton University Atheist Society were finally permitted, after 2 months extensive blocks from their Muslim Society and SU, to hold a debate on the limits of free speech.

The debate was only permitted with police presence and security guard searches of student attendees, who claimed they were treated with suspicion and made to feel like they’d done something wrong.

The Pro Vice Chancellor attended and thanked the Atheist Soc for making a vital contribution to campus life by standing up for freedom of speech.

The process started two months ago Southampton Atheist Society sought to run a debate about freedom of speech featuring a screening of Geert Wilders’ controversial anti-Islamic short-film ‘Fitna’.

The university’s Muslim Society launched a petition which gained much support gathering 180 signatures against the event.

In response the students’ union intervened in the running of the event putting some conditions on the Atheist Society for them to be allowed to proceed. The atheists had to hire security guards when traditionally, Southampton societies don’t charge students for anything and have no income, and the event could only take place with police presence.

The motives of the atheists were also questioned - it was suggested that they wanted to show the film to stir up religious hatred and debate the validity of Islam. These accusations were met with outrage from members of the Atheist Society.

Between February and April it seemed possible that the Atheist Society was going to collapse due to public pressure.

However, Jens Christensen, President of the Atheist Soc made persistent efforts to claim that freedom of speech and whether or how it should be limited was the subject of the debate and nothing more.

Eventually the screening went ahead on Tuesday April 21, the same week in which Leeds Atheist Society received further death threats.

It is claimed that before entering the venue, some of the 20-25 students had food and drink confiscated and were frisked by police and security.


Muslim students were invited to the event but none attended on the evening. The event began with a speech by the Pro Vice Chancellor, Debra Humphris, outlining what the event was about and appealing for good conduct with no violence.

The debate concluded that there should be no limits on free speech, although suggested that the vulnerable could be manipulated by propaganda like Fitna.
A second year physicist called Joss concluded: “You can’t get rid of hateful ideas by silencing them - that just drives them underground where they get worse. It’s only by hearing these ideas that you can reply to them with counter arguments.”

In response the Muslim Society are responding with a talk called ‘An Intellectual Response to the Concept of Freedom of Speech’.

The Atheist Society have set up a joking petition to allow the event to go ahead without any fuss.
Speaking at the debate Jens Christensen, said, “I advocate free speech because it is pragmatically observed to be a good way of doing things. Good ideas tend to resonate more than bad ones, and hence our civilization benefits from everyone being able to speak freely. “Hate speech” is a sub category of “free speech”, typically it is intentionally offensive, based almost solely on personal opinions and designed to rally one population at the expense of another. The problem is that almost all opinions fielded about society from the most banal comment on public spending to the vile rantings of a white supremacist would fall somewhat into this category, and so the very act of judging if language counts as hate speech is subjective. Who is it offensive to?”

“We can’t really judge it by its inoffensiveness to a majority, since then a racial slur against a minority would really not an issue.”

Chloë Clifford-Frith, AHS Press Officer told The National Student that she believes atheist and agnostic students are experiencing prejudice on campus, “One of the reasons the AHS exists is to support uni groups who experience these problems. The level of suspicion with which the atheist societies have been treated in both cases is sadly quite common and a readily understood prejudice. There is a popular idea at present is that religious beliefs should be protected from criticism, because the religious are easily offended. This is misguided, not to mention rather patronising to religious people, because while human beings inherently deserve respect, ideas are open for debate. This a crucial aspect of a free society.”

“Student Unions may feel pressured to automatically side with religious groups because of the current trend, and religious groups are increasingly demanding immunity from having their ideas discussed. It should be noted that in both incidents neither of the Muslim Societies were actually even being targeted for criticism.”

She also explained that there are many examples of such prejudice on campus and in wider society, “Leeds have experienced death threats, vandalism, theft and SU discrimination in the past. Warwick Atheists were also stripped of their ‘Best New Society’ award and prize money in 2008 after a complaint that a poster for one of their talks was offensive. The award, but not the prize money was returned some months later. Some societies have experienced problems with their SUs refusing to ratify their existence. Again, this is symptomatic of a wider suspicion of people who profess to be atheists - as if there is something threatening about not believing in a god or gods. Even Prof Richard Dawkins, when attempting to set up the charitable educational foundation ‘The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science’, had his forms returned to him with the suspicious question: ‘Please explain how “science” has benefited humanity’!”

Still under the banner of AHS atheist students are looking to expand the voice of non-religious students on campus. It is their aim to help at least 15 universities hold a ‘Rationalist Week next year and regardless of the problems the Leeds event has been considered a success.

The Leeds event ran for 24 hours a day for 7 days in a large tent baring a ‘there is no god’ sign over the entrance. It was the festival’s third year and it is expected, once again, to draw crowds of hundreds across the week. Events can even be watched online via a live webfeed.

A programme of interfaith and other educational events included ‘It’s Only Water’ - concerning homeopathic medicine, a church service to the cult god the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the ironic ‘Why are evil dictators always atheists?"

American Humanist Association Presents: “Secular Principles Pinky Swear”

Are you tired of seeing the Religious Right claim the moral high ground through abstinence pledges that don't work? Statistics show that teens who take abstinence pledges--such as the infamous "Silver Ring Thing"--are no less likely to engage in premarital sex, and in fact are more likely to engage in irresponsible, unprotected sex.

Secular Americans, especially nonreligious kids, have strong morals and values that are based on reason, not dogma. And as a humanist, you know that attempts to control teens' behavior through fear, intimidation and outdated doctrines and institutions are wrong--and futile.

But thanks to a group of young humanist activists from Georgia, the Silver Ring Thing has now clearly met its match. Please take a moment to watch the video below, which contains the humanist community's answer to abstinence pledges--the Secular Principles Pinky Swear!

The Pinky Swear is a direct challenge to dogmatic religious pledges, demonstrating how secular kids can have strong values rooted in reason. These kids are NOT taking any kind of pledge in the traditional sense. Instead, they are just declaring their humanist values--values that include a commitment to being true to themselves, to being honest about their beliefs and values and to taking a mature approach to life's important issues. In the Pinky Swear, there is no promise of loyalty to any institution or philosophy, no dogma of any kind.

Please do what you can to expose everyone you know, especially young people, to the Pinky Swear. Let's hope in the coming months and years we see millions of young people wearing their "pinky rings" as a symbol of their commitment to secular values!

To learn more about the AHA's Secular Principles Pinky Swear, or to add your name to the pledge list, visit the website at http://www.secularpinkyswear.org/.

UnitedCOR Essay Contest: Good Without God

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.

The contest is simple. Please tell us your personal story, in 500 words or less: what does it mean for you to be Good Without God? How do you live out your positive values as a Humanist, atheist, agnostic, secularist, or freethinker? Please write in the first person.

We highly encourage you to share specific examples about your god-free involvement in service to country or community; how your non-religious approach to life helped you to get through a difficult time; or how it transformed your relationships with your family and the people you care about.

The author of the first-prize essay will receive a prize of $1,000, courtesy of the United Coalition of Reason. The first twenty five submissions will receive a signed copy of the upcoming book by Greg Epstein, Humanist Chaplain of Harvard University, entitled Good Without God: What a Billion Non-Religious People Do Believe, when the book is released in October courtesy of William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers. Many entries will be published by the United Coalition of Reason as part of our upcoming nationwide Good Without God Campaign. For more information about the UnitedCoR, please see this recent article from the New York Times front page:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/us/27atheist.html

Along with your essay we require that you send a high-resolution photo of yourself that represents you. (Let us know who took the photo so we can credit them if we publish it.)

Please also include your:

*Email Address *Phone number *Mailing address

Essays must be submitted by June 23, 2009 to be considered for the $1,000 prize. Essays submitted after June 23 will not be eligible for the prize, but may still be eligible to be included in our national Good Without Campaign coming this fall.

Please send your essay, photo and details, by email to:

UnitedCoRGoodWithoutGod@gmail.com

Thank you in advance for joining us and for working to make your community a better place!

Warmly,

The United Coalition of Reason

http://unitedcor.org