Cederdahl Wins Prestigious American Atheists Scholarship

by Leslie A. Zukor

Congratulations to Andrew Cederdahl, a third-year student at the University of South Carolina, the recipient of the 2009 American Atheists $2,000 Founders Scholarship. Each year, the American Atheists awards three scholarships: the $2,000 award; a $1,000 runner-up scholarship; and the $1,000 Chinn Scholarship to a gay or lesbian student atheist. Several Secular Student Alliance affiliate leaders received Honorable Mentions. In subsequent editions of the eMpirical, the Secular Student Alliance will chronicle the other awardees: Shelley Mountjoy, a student at George Mason University, and Jon Adams, a student at Utah State University.

A tireless worker on behalf of freethought principles, Cederdahl is excited to win the scholarship competition. "I was so happy to get [the award]," he said. Cederdahl is a pre-law major and carries a 4.0 GPA. He is a co-founder of the Pastafarians at USC (University of South Carolina), a humorous takeoff on the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He is also a member of the Secular Student Alliance Board of Directors. Cederdahl is also very involved in student government; he was the Director of Conferences for the Gamecock Leadership Society and organized its Student Leadership and Diversity Conference. But it is his work as a freethought activist that he was ultimately honored for.

Andrew Cederdahl poses with his American Atheists Certificate.

Cederdahl has led the Pastafarians to many successes, including acceptance on a conservative campus. "The vast majority disagrees with our principles ... [but] we are very open and positive and respectful to theists," Cederdahl said. From raising $400 for Relay for Life to having a pasta benefit dinner for Operation Foxhole Atheists, Cederdahl's club has put a positive spin on atheism. Cederdahl also spearheaded a tongue-in-cheek WWFSMD? (What Would the Flying Spaghetti Monster Do?) Clothing Drive--a take-off on WWJD? (What Would Jesus Do?) events. In short, Cederdahl's good-natured activism has paid dividends for the Pastafarians, making atheism a viable option at USC.

Although South Carolina is not known as a state friendly to secularism, the USC Pastafarians have created a presence far beyond the university's walls. "What we are doing ... is sort of revolutionary," Cederdahl explains, underscoring that at USC, in the center of hyperreligious South Carolina, there is a thriving nontheist group. While Cederdahl had been interviewed on the April 18th episode of Freethought Radio, he reached the pinnacle of journalistic fame when he was interviewed for the front page New York Times article "More Atheists Shout it From the Rooftops" about the increase of publicly visible atheists. Mentioning the USC Pastafarians, as well as Cederdahl and another club member by name, the subsequent coverage in local print and television media catapulted Cederdahl's club into First Place for the Secular Student Alliance's Best Media Award of 2009.