The Secular Student Alliance is proud to announce its first-ever Regional Leadership Summit, to be held Feb. 12-14, 2010.  The summit will be hosted by the Atheists, Humanists and Agnostics (AHA!) at Stanford University in Stanford, CA.  This weekend session is a great opportunity for student leaders to fine-tune their group-running skills, meet other leaders from the area, network with local off-campus organizations, and have a great time!

Get Information On:
          Registration
          Housing
          Travel Grants          
          Program & Schedule
          Getting to Stanford
          Advertising

 

 

Registration
Registration for the NorCal Regional Leadership Summit is only $25 for students who are members of the SSA.  Nonstudents and nonmembers are also welcome to join us for a weekend of training, networking and fun!

Registration includes admission to all workshops and sessions, a reception on Friday evening, and Saturday evening's keynote presentation.

Registration Rates (register online!)

• Student SSA Members: $25.00
• Student Nonmembers: $75.00
• Nonstudent SSA Members: $125.00
• Nonstudent Nonmembers: $200.00

    Join the SSA and save: www.secularstudents.org/join

Register online!

Housing Information
We have gotten a great deal with the Sheraton hotel near Stanford's campus to reserve housing for the conference.  Double rooms are available for $110.95/night, and the hotel is willing to split the room charges among up to four people per room.  We have three ways in which you can reserve a room.

Option 1: Reserve 1/4 room, $28/night.  This is the budget option, at only $28/night.  You reserve one spot in a two-bed room, with the charges split four ways.  You can either specify one or more roommates (who should also reserve 1/4 room when registering and request you as a roommate), or ask the SSA to place you with roommates.  If you specify less than three roommates, the SSA will place the remaining roommates for your room.  If you choose this option, the hotel will split the charges equally among all four guests.

Option 2: Reserve a half room, $56/night.  You can reserve half a room ($56/night).  You can either specify a roommate (who should also reserve a half-room when registering and request you as a roommate), or ask the SSA to place you with a roommate.  This option means that there will be only two people in your room (which means you each get your own bed).  If you choose this option, the hotel will split the room charges between you and your roommate. 

Option 3: Reserve an entire room $110.95/night.  You can reserve an entire room (110.95/night), with two beds and up to four occupants, and find your own roommates.  You do not need to tell the SSA who your roommates will be, but those roommates should opt out of reserving a hotel room when they register for the summit.  If you choose this option, the hotel will only bill the room charges to one credit card.

The SSA endeavors to place same-gender roommates whenever possible when making roommate arrangements.

If you find that you need housing after you register for the summit, please contact us and let us know so we can reserve a room for you.  Likewise, if you have reserved a room and have to cancel, please let us know!  We can make changes to the room assignments until Friday, 2/12, but no-shows will result in your roommates being charged for your portion of the room!

Travel Grants
We have travel grants available to help defray costs of travel and lodging for the summit.  Travel grants are available in the amount of $100 and are limited to one grant per affiliate group.  Students receiving travel grants must be SSA members and must be registered for the conference.  Checks must be picked up in person at the conference.

Students who receive a travel grant are required to complete a short write-up (about 500 words) about their experience at the conference.  We must receive these essays within one month of the conference.  These essays may be published in our electronic newsletter, on our website, or in publicity materials.

Apply for a Travel Grant at http://www.secularstudents.org/node/2889.

Program & Schedule
The NorCal Regional Leadership Summit runs from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, 2/12/2010 - 2/14/2010.

Friday, 2/12
     7pm:  Registration opens, with a reception for attendees

Saturday, 2/13
     9:45am: Registration opens
     10:30am:  Events begin
     12:30pm: Break for lunch - Tresidder Union Food Court
     1:30pm: Events resume
     6:00pm: Break for dinner - on your own
     8:00pm: Keynote Presentation

Sunday, 2/14
     10:30am: Events begin
     2:00pm: Regional Summit Closes

Programming is still in the works, but will include popular and fun events such as Speed Networking, Peer Problem Solving sessions, a Saturday night keynote address (stay tuned for details on this!), and sessions on growing your group, getting media coverage, becoming politically active, succession planning, local collaboration, and more.  We'll be posting a complete schedule soon!

 
How to Get to Stanford
Study, study study.  But if you're just coming for the leadership summit, these directions might help!

Maps
Google map of relevant places
Campus Google map

Flying

Flying to Stanford?  Book your flight using the SSA's Travel Gateway and support secular students!

The Stanford campus is just south of Palo Alto, CA, between San Francisco and San Jose. It's pretty much the same distance from the San Francisco (SFO) and San Jose (SJC) airports, which serve different airlines so it's worth checking both. Oakland (OAK) is difficult without a car, but not impossible.

The SamTrans KX bus runs between SFO and the Palo Alto Transit Center. It costs $1.75, runs semi-frequently, and takes a little over an hour.

The free Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority (VTA) #10 bus (Airport Flyer) runs between SJC and the Santa Clara Transit Center. From there, the Caltrain runs to the Palo Alto Transit Center for $4.25 and takes about half an hour, but doesn't run at night. The VTA #522 express bus runs from there to the Palo Alto Transit Center frequently (but not very late at night and not on Sunday), costs $4, and takes a little over 45 minutes. The #22 bus covers the same route in an hour for $2, but runs late into the night and on Sundays.

If all else fails, the South and East Bay Shuttle is available at both airports. It costs $18 for the first person and $6 for each additional rider, with a $10 surcharge after 11:30 pm. It's not likely to be faster than mass transit, but it operates all the time. (It's like SuperShuttle but cheaper.)

Driving
In the Bay Area, street signs are misleading, or cleverly hidden behind shrubberies, and lots of streets have the same Spanish names. Online maps like Google tend to be surprisingly inaccurate on campus.

Stanford is between highways 101 and 280. Everything is at an angle (because it's on the Peninsula), so the cardinal directions are northwest/southeast (called north and south) and northeast/southwest (east and west). From the north: exit Highway 101 at Embarcadero Rd and follow it southwest to El Camino Real, then follow that northwest to your destination. From the south: exit highway 280 at Page Mill Rd and follow that northeast to El Camino Real, then follow that northwest to your destination.

On El Camino Real north(west)bound, the entrance to the Sheraton Palo Alto is in the right turn lane for the University Ave exit. (If you're coming from the opposite direction, you'll have to make a U-turn to get on the other side.) To get to downtown Palo Alto from that exit, use the middle lane and don't turn until the intersection - the right turn lane only leads into the Transit Center. To get to the campus, use the left lane and turn left at the light. On Palm Drive, generally avoid the right lane since it often becomes a turn lane. Note that left turns are prohibited at some intersections, but otherwise U-turns are legal (and even obligatory) in California.

On & Around Campus
The best way to get from the Sheraton to campus is probably to carpool and drive straight down Palm Drive and park in the Oval, which is free on weekends. Or, you could just walk - it's about a mile. The fallback is the free Marguerite shuttle, namely the "Shopping Express." The first bus leaves the Palo Alto Transit Center at 9:49 am and arrives at Via Ortega and Campus Drive West (the nearest stop to the Main Quad) around 10. The second bus isn't until 10:34 am, so stragglers will be in trouble.

Getting back to the hotel (or downtown) from the campus is easier. Starting at 8:34 pm and running past midnight, a different Marguerite line (the "Midnight Express") leaves the Oval every 20 minutes and actually goes a couple of blocks into downtown Palo Alto.

 

Advertising with the SSA
The Secular Student Alliance offers unique advertising opportunities for freethought organizations, businesses and authors.  We offer opportunities to table at our regional leadership summits, and have opportunities for full-page, black-and-white advertisements in the conference proceedings booklets distributed to all conference attendees.

Tables for this event are $60.00 for the full weekend, including one free "Exhibitor" registration to the event.  You can reserve a table at the 2010 NorCal Regional Leadership Summit through our online webform.

You may place a 8.5 x 11, black-and-white ad in our conference proceedings at one of three levels.  Placing your ad in the proceedings for one regional leadership summit (either NorCal or Boston) is $50.00 - ideal for local off-campus organizations!  You may place an ad in the proceedings for our National Conference in summer 2010 for $75.00.  Or, you can place your ad in all three for a discounted rate of $100.00 - a great solution for authors, online businesses and national organizations.  Reserve your ad space using our convenient webform!

Reserve a Table

Place a Conference Proceedings Ad

The Secular Student Alliance (www.secularstudents.org) is seeking two to four interns for the winter of 2010. 

• Internship Details
• Task Focus Areas
• How To Apply
  
  

Internship Details
* These positions are ten weeks long and have either a $100/week (20 hr./week) or $200/week (40 hr./week) stipend. 
* The start and stop dates are flexible, as are breaks, we only require a commitment of approximately ten weeks between mid January and late May. 
* These positions are 20 hr./week ($100) or 40 hr./week ($200) positions and will take place during normal business hours except where otherwise noted. 
* We are willing to be flexible in terms of time and stipend to meet academic requirements.
* The interns will work at our office in Columbus, OH.
* On a case-by-case basis, some work may be able to be done via telecommuting.

Our mission is to organize, unite, educate, and serve students and student communities that promote the ideals of scientific and critical inquiry, democracy, secularism, and human based ethics. The bulk of our efforts go into organizing and supporting students and student groups who do not see theism as the source of morality or knowledge--this includes atheists, agnostics, humanists, rationalists and other non-theists.  We have over 130 affiliates in nine countries--the vast majority of our affiliates are in the U.S.

The Secular Student Alliance is a 501(c)(3) educational, non-profit, public charity.  We were founded in 2000 by students and recent students.  We are headquartered in Columbus, OH.

Task Focus Areas
There are three areas upon which we plan to have the interns focus.  Each intern may focus on one area, or multiple areas. 

Area 1 - PUBLIC RELATIONS
This area focuses on promoting public awareness of the Alliance, its affiliates, and the ideals we seek to advance.  This will be done through writing and distributing press releases, creating a press kit, helping to develop our electronic newsletter, working the blogosphere and social networking sites, and any other means that seem appropriate. 

Area 2 - WEB/DATABASE DEVELOPMENT
This area focuses on improving both the public website of the Alliance and on improving our internal database.  Most of this work will take place using HTML, PHP, Javascript, and MySQL.  Prior knowledge of these languages is not required, but is beneficial.  If you are interested in this area, please list all programming languages with which you are familiar in your answers to the screening questions. This area may also involve making other improvements to the way the Alliance uses technology.

Area 3- FUNDRAISING
This area will involve work with as many areas of SSA fundraising as possible.  This includes membership management, direct mail, foundations, and large donor cultivation.  It may also include working with our campus affiliates to seek funding from their universities and teaching student leaders how to fund raise. 

The internships may involve some work not directly related to these areas.  However, the majority of the time for the internships will be spent working on creative, professional projects under the direct supervision of senior staff.


How to Apply
Apply by sending an email including your name, address, email address and telephone number to hr@secularstudents.org.  Include your answers to the Screening Questions (below) and, if desired, your resume in the body of the email.  Please do not send attachments.

Applications must be submitted by December 15, 2009. 

Screening Questions

1. Why are you interested in this internship?

2. Are you interested in the 20 hr./week or 40 hr./week position?

3. In which of the three task focus areas are you interested?  Why?

4. When would you be available to put in your ten weeks?

5. What do you expect to get from the internship?

6. Where are you a student?

7. What are you studying?

8. When do you plan to graduate?

9. What is your college grade point average? Describe the scale your school uses if different from the standard 4.0 scale.

10. Will this internship fulfill an academic requirement for you?  If so, what conditions must the internship meet in order for it to qualify?

11. What are your long-term career goals? Do you plan to get further education? Are you interested in a career in the humanist/freethought movement? How does this internship fit into your long-term plans?

12. Can you prove that you are either a citizen of the United States, or a legal worker and permanent resident?

13. Have you been involved in some form of student activism? If so, briefly describe.

14. Are you willing to be publicly known as a supporter of SSA's cause? (The two most controversial elements of that cause being: 1. promoting respect and equal rights for atheists, agnostics, humanists and others that do not believe in a god AND 2. deep skepticism of the supernatural.)

15. Do you have any reservations about collaborating with people who are much older or younger than you, or are of a different ethnic group, sexual orientation, or philosophical or political belief?

16. What experience(s) from your activist/volunteer work do you expect to help you most for this internship? Why?

17. What experience(s) from your paid work experience do you expect to help you most for this internship? Why?

18. From what you know about the SSA, what do you like best?

19. From what do you know about the SSA, what would you most like to see improve?

20. With what, if any, student freethought or humanist organizations are you currently involved? How about off-campus organizations? Do you plan to become involved in any local student/adult organizations in the near future?

21. How did you learn about this position (Craigslist, Idealist, Facebook, Twitter, SSA website/newsletter, word of mouth)?

22. Please give the names and phone numbers of at least one work or activist reference, and one academic reference.

23. Please suggest three (or more) one hour-long blocks of time when you would be able to arrange a phone or in-person interview (weekends and evenings are okay, but not ideal).

24. Is there anything else you would like to make us aware of as we consider your application?

Roy Natian, founder of the Bruin Alliance of Skeptics and Secularists, found his group in a unique position when Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron appeared in person on UCLA's campus to distribute the Living Waters Ministry's version of Darwin's Origin of Species.  Roy and Ben Jolitz both shared their experiences "confronting Comfort."

Roy Natian explains the situation and his group's plans:
Ray Comfort’s Living Waters Ministry declared months ago it would go to the top 50-100 college campuses in the US and pass out free copies of Darwin’s Origin of Species with a 50 page introduction full of misinformation and lies written by Ray Comfort. They advertised that this would occur on the 19th of November.

Note: If you don’t know who Ray Comfort is, check out this video with him and a banana…it’ll go far in showing you his mental capacity/ignorance/dishonesty.

Well, they changed their mind. They hit campuses all over the US [on November 18th]. Sneaky Ray, very sneaky. This wasn’t unexpected though. BASS saw the possibility of this misinformation campaign occurring on a date other than the advertised one. BASS members were prepared to pass out printed materials from the NCSE any time this week. Several BASS members handed out flyers and bookmarks with information about evolution.

Surprisingly, both Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron were at UCLA in person. A few BASS members engaged and debated with them on evolution and at least one BASS member was interviewed on camera. Spencer Fern, BASS secretary, even got to take a picture with Ray. It’s interesting how Ray is in the same position in the three pictures.

Ray "the Banan Man" Comfort with Spencer Fern

Spencer commented, "I got him to agree to the photo and he asked one of his acolytes to take the picture, but then I casually revealed I was an atheist. He kind of pulled away at that, but I had him in a bit of an armlock and he didn’t want to make a scene."

BASS member Ben Jolitz wrote up his "confronting Comfort" experiences:
Well, in an not entirely unexpected move, Ray Comfort and his creationist cadre moved up the day where they were to distribute their own corrupted version of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species with a 59 page unnoted garbage introduction regurgitating tired disproved creationist arguments of irreducible complexity and claims that Darwin played a pivotal role in Nazi Germany, despite obvious evidence that it was banned under Die Bucherei von 1935 (The Library of 1935):

Quote:6. Schriften weltanschaulichen und lebenskundlichen Charakters, deren Inhalt die falsche naturwissenschaftliche Aufklaerung eines primitiven Darwinismus und Monismus ist (Haeckel).

Translation:

Quote:6. Writings of world natured and living-oriented nature, whose content is of false scientific enlightenment through primitive Darwinism and Monism.

Well, some of my friends actually debated the Banana man himself, while I was late and had to make do with some guy who I think was Latino and claimed to have served in Iraq, not that he looked particularly fit. While he was preaching, he made the statement that is paraphrased as “Without God, there is no reason to live a good life”. Enough being enough, I made my way to the box opposing from him in the circle of the public.

“Sir!” I begin, “That is out of line! You are wrong”

He calls me rude, but I persist, gesturing. As he quiets, I quote Marcus Aurelius, messing it up a bit, but here is the correct quote:

Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.

The crowd cheered, but then the creationist attempts character assassination, asking if I’ve ever lied then trying to call me a liar (someone answered his question with “Christian” to “What do we call those who lie?”), etc,. I call it out – and I get the hypothetical of “If you were at God’s feet”, etc, at which I concede that if God was in front of me, I would accept judgement and bow down, but only under extreme and exact conditions. He then devolves back into proselytizing and professes how much he cares for me. At that point, I am weirded out again, but looks like he is tired too, so someone else takes the boxes away and it ends.

On the upside, my club and I passed out many fliers from the NCSE on “Why Ray Comfort is Wrong”.

Ben Jolitz with Comfort's "Origin"

 

For more information on BASS's Confronting Comfort activities:

PZ Myers on Pharyngula linked to BASS and a post written on Spencer’s website about Ray Comfort being at UCLA today.  BASS president Joe Creason posted some video of Ray Comfort on Youtube.

Catherine Blackwell is the founder of the Secular Student Alliance at the University of Maryland - Baltimore County. When asked about her beliefs and the group she's leading, she wrote these responses. She eloquently counters some of the most common questions we hear about our groups, and so we're delighted to share her explanations. Learn more about the Secular Student Alliance at UMBC at www.secularstudents.org/umbc or find them on Facebook.

I would say my family is largely secular, and I grew up in a household where religion wasn't much of an issue. My mom was a single parent, but I've stayed in touch with my dad, who would call himself an atheist. There was a period from when I was about 8-13 after my grandfather died and my mom decided that we would start going to church more, but it was always rather half-hearted and I was never a believer. I threw a huge tantrum when she tried to have me baptized when I was seven. I think I actually declared myself an atheist when I started high school, but I wasn't much of an activist until the past couple of years. I started learning more about science and I read a lot of the work of Dawkins, Harris, and other of the "new atheist" authors and really looked up to what they were doing for the secular movement.

I wouldn't say that my atheism itself has a profound impact on my everyday life, simply because all it is is a rejection of dogma. But what it does do is give me empowerment to live my life under my own authority, and to understand that I have to continually seek knowledge about the world around me. I think the first step to becoming a nonbeliever is to start asking questions, and to investigate the answers with science and reason if they are not known. Religion teaches that we should be satisfied with not knowing, and I personally find absolutely no fulfillment in that.


-If I'm not mistaken the club is brand new this year, do you know anything about secular clubs on campus previous years? How did the club get started?

I decided to start the club at the end of last semester, right as I was finishing up my ecology and evolution class. Dr. Freeland was the professor for the evolution portion of the class, and as a religious man, he allowed us to open up the discussion a little bit between science and religion both in class and on Blackboard. Evolution is a complicated issue for a lot of the religious community, and Dr. Freeland cleared up a lot of misconceptions and tried to demonstrate that religion and evolution can coexist together (even though I disagreed with him). We had a lot of interesting conversations, and I started looking for an outlet to continue the discussion on campus.

A few searches for an organization led me to the national group, the Secular Student Alliance. I realized there was no equivalent group on campus, so I figured I would start one. It looked like a great way to bring together other atheist, secular, skeptic, humanist, and/or agnostic students in a friendly environment and start a real, rational discussion about religion. The only other similar group I know of at UMBC was several years ago a few students planned an "Atheist Week" that I think was largely successful, but there hadn't been anything like it since. The SSA sent me a startup packet, and I started out pretty much on my own. I had an interest meeting at the beginning of September, which had a great turnout. Two months later, we have a chapter that is coming along nicely, with a great team of hard-working officers and a growing membership.

-How do you personally define your atheism (or secularism if that is the case)?

We had a discussion meeting about this a few weeks ago, but defining atheism can actually be a tricky thing, and no two nonbelievers will give the same response. I would call myself a "de facto" atheist, which basically means that I do not claim to know with 100% certainty that no god(s) exist, but due to the lack of supporting evidence in the favor of any supreme being I am inclined to reject theist and deist claims of this existence until such evidence is provided. My position regarding God is identical to my position regarding pink unicorns, leprechauns, fairies, flying spaghetti monsters, and orbiting teapots--I do not live my life on the assumption that they exist because there is not the slightest bit of evidence demonstrating that they do.

-What are your reasons for joining the SSA, essentially why did you join a club designed around the non-belief in something?

A lot of people have asked us "What's the point of having a group for people who don't believe in anything? What do you DO?" I think the best way to answer this is to say that our group isn't focused on sitting around talking about what we don't believe in. The SSA offers an outlet for secular students of all kinds of religious and non-religious backgrounds to have a safe place and an outlet for rational, intelligent, and interesting discussion about our world and our place in it outside of the supernatural. Just like the religious organizations on campus, we want to create a sense of community. Atheists are possibly the most ostracized minority in the United States. From the SSA website: "In 2007, when asked if they would vote for an otherwise qualified atheist candidate of their party, only 45% said yes. This score is fully ten percentage points lower than the score an otherwise qualified homosexual received, and even further below the scores women, blacks, Jews, Catholics, Baptists and Mormons received. In fact, no minority scored lower than atheists."

Having a group like the SSA here allows us to talk about issues regarding religion and where we see its injustices, to have events and activities that enrich and educate the UMBC campus about what the secularism movement is about, and, quite simply, just to have a place to get together and meet people that share a lot of the same ideas. What is absolutely not our goal is to start "deconverting" religious people and getting them to join "our side." The process of abandoning faith is arduous, and takes many years of studying, pondering, asking questions, and really thinking about why you believe what you believe. If it were our goal to go around proselytizing atheism, we wouldn't get anywhere and we would project an extremely negative image of ourselves. We would much rather reach out to the nonbelievers who are already here on campus and who would benefit from having a friendly forum of discussion. Our group also emphasizes the importance of volunteer work, as the importance of service to one's community is something that both religious and non-religious people can agree on. This also helps our group to demonstrate that it is possible to be good without God.

-What, would you say, is the average attendance of your members to the club?

The SSA at UMBC right now is a rapidly growing organization. We currently have a Facebook group with almost 70 members, and regularly see up to 30 at meetings, with occasional guests from other groups on campus who show up to check us out. Just this afternoon, we got final word on getting officially recognized from the university, which is very exciting because now we will be free to request funding, plan events, and have a real website. So far, we've had some really interesting discussions during our weekly meetings, showed a compilation of YouTube clips as a fun diversion, and had a movie night last week with "Jesus Camp". The group is also really interested in uniting with some religious organizations on campus for some healthy discussion or joint events to promote mutual understanding, and we're looking into planning things like that in the future.

The SSA at UMBC is now, as far as we know, the largest group of secular students in the entire state of Maryland. Only Towson has another chapter, and it has fewer than ten people involved and appears to be inactive. We are affiliated with the national group, the Secular Student Alliance, and have also been approached by the National Coalition of Reason, which is interested in starting a Baltimore Coalition of Reason and including our group. The Coalition of Reason is an umbrella organization that serves to unite local groups and provide funding and resources for billboard and bus advertising, seminars, and speakers. If you've heard of the Atheist Bus Campaign in the US, keep an eye out because you may see some UMBC buses in the future with similar ads.

Austin Dacey, Ph.D., is a secular philosopher and human rights activist with a new presentation on blasphemy, free speech and the future of human rights.  Dr. Dacey developed this timely and notable talk through his work as a United Nations representative during which he participated in the dialogue on free speech limitations related to criticism of religious belief.

Dr. Dacey is also the author of The Secular Conscience and multiple publications in Skeptical Inquirer, Free Inquiry, The Washington Post and Psychology Today.  You and your group can learn more about his work and his publications at http://www.austindacey.com/.

Dr. Dacey has contacted the Secular Student Alliance in order to bring his new presentation to campuses across the U.S.  We're excited to share this opportunity with your group!

If you are interested in bringing Dr. Dacey to your campus, contact Angie McAllister at angie@austindacey.com or (347) 725-1215.

Each year, American Atheists holds a scholarship competition for student atheist activists.   A first place prize of $2,000 and a $1,000 runner-up prize will be awarded to outstanding young atheist activists.  In addition, the Chinn Scholarship is a grant of $1,000 to an outstanding gay/lesbian atheist activist.  Current college students as well as high school students entering college the following year are eligible.  

The deadline for entries is January 31, 2010!

What is it?  

The Founders' Scholarship grants a first place award of $2000 and a runner-up prize of $1000 to Atheist students going to college every year. The Chinn Scholarship is a $1000 grant to an outstanding gay/lesbian Atheist. 

Who can enter? 

The grant can be used for current college students or for high school students entering college next year. Applicants must be Atheists and have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 (in academic subjects) or better. Race, color, politics, ethnicity, lifestyle, and sex will not be considered as factors. We judge people on their actions and words alone. 

NOTE: Membership is required to accept the prize, but not to apply. A gay / lesbian person may apply for both scholarships, but s/he can only win one of them. 

How is the winner chosen? 

American Atheists is an organization of activists, and so our scholarship will be awarded primarily on activism. Qualified applicants must submit an entry form and any and all information or evidence they have of their activism for the previous year. Examples include: 

· Letters printed in newspapers 

· Replies from politicians on certain issues 

· Letters of testimonial from teachers, friends or other activists 

· Evidence that you sponsor an Atheist TV show (e.g., our Atheist ViewPoint) on your cable system. 

· Student essay 

While any and all activism is important and will be considered, special attention will be given to those students who show activism in their schools, such as starting Atheist/freethinker groups or fighting against violations of the separation of church and state in the school. Click here to get some ideas! 

Please note that merely writing an essay will not win you the scholarship. This is about activism, and your essay should be about your activism for the cause of Atheist civil liberties, the separation of church and state, or placing a positive face on Atheism. Show proof -- include clippings, printouts, or copies of letters. Writing well is important, but we'll take a poorly-written essay about heroic activism over a well written essay about nothing any day. Do, then write. 

Violent or vandalistic behavior is not tolerated and will result in immediate disqualification. 

Who decides the winner? 

The winner will be chosen by the Youth and Family Director, the President, and/or the delegates they choose who are directors and/or officers of American Atheists. 

How do I enter? 

Winning is hard, but entry is easy. Simply fill out the entry form and submit it, your 500-1000 word essay, and all supporting documentation via mail before January 31, 2010.

Important disclaimer 

As you can see above, the winner is chosen on purely subjective criteria. American Atheists reserves the right to choose the recipient of the scholarship as we see fit. We also reserve the right to withdraw the scholarship after it is announced but before it is paid if we see substantial evidence of violent or otherwise undesirable behavior in the recipient. A runner-up may also be chosen in case the winner is deemed no longer worthy. Finally, while we will try to verify all claims made by applicants, we cannot and will not be held responsible if we are deceived in any way. 

Good luck, and may the best activist win!  Click here to download Application

The Campaign for Free Expression is a CFI initiative to focus efforts and attention on one of the most crucial components of freethought: the right of individuals to express their viewpoints, opinions, and beliefs about all subjects—especially religion. As the great Danish cartoon controversy of 2005 and 2006 showed, few media can speak so eloquently – or so pointedly – on sensitive topics as a cartoon.

As part of its contribution to the Center for Inquiry’s Campaign for Free Expression, the Council for Secular Humanism is sponsoring a Free Expression Cartoon Contest . The Council – publisher of Free Inquiry, the first major U. S. publication to republish a selection of the Danish cartoons – invites professional and amateur artists to submit their sharpest, cleverest, and most ingenious creations touching on that most sensitive subject: religion. (Though secular humanism is not a religion, cartoons about secular humanists and other activists who live without religion are welcome, too.)

Let’s be clear what we’re not looking for: We’re not looking for cartoons that crudely mock a particular faith or engage in sacrilege for the fun of it. A well-conceived cartoon can do so much more than that. We’re looking for sophisticated, hard-hitting ideas and images that pose serious questions about belief and disbelief – cartoons that prod readers to think as they laugh (or maybe, cry).

How to Enter...and Win! The Free Expression Cartoon Contest is two contests in one. Amateur cartoonists (anyone who doesn’t get a regular paycheck to draw cartoons) can compete for prizes of $300 (grand prize), $125 (second prize), and $75 (third prize). In addition, the three winning entries will be published in Free Inquiry and on the Council for Secular Humanism and Center for Inquiry Web sites. Professional cartoonists will compete for grander prizes of $2500 (grand prize), $1250 (second prize), and $750 (third prize). Winning pro entries will also be published in Free Inquiry and online.

Entries will be judged a panel of volunteer judges led by Steve Benson. Benson is the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Arizona Republic, an avowed atheist, a former Mormon – and grandson of the late Ezra Taft Benson, a president of the Mormon Church

Entries must be received no later than Friday, January 15, 2010. Winners will be announced on Monday, March 29, 2010 – just in time for Easter!

Entries must be received at the Council’s offices in Amherst, New York, by or before Friday, January 15, 2010. Hardcopy entries should be sent to Cartoon Contest, P. O. Box 664, Amherst NY 14226-0664. Online entries should be sent to cartooncontest@secularhumanism.org. Permissible formats for hardcopy entries include physical art or allowable graphics files on data CD, data DVD, or flash drive, Mac or PC format. (For allowable graphics file formats, see below). Online entries may be sent as a drawing embedded in the body of the email message, or as an attached file in any allowable graphics file formats. Allowable formats include .jpg, .tif, .png. and .pdf.. Cartoons embedded in files specific to a page layout program such as InDesign or QuarkXPress are not acceptable.

Who may enter? This contest is open to interested individuals age 18 and over residing in any nation. You need not be a subscriber to Free Inquiry in order to enter. Individuals barred from entry include employees of the Center for Inquiry, titled volunteers affiliated with Center for Inquiry operations outside the United States; employees of American Press Inc.; employees of the Arizona Republic; and members of the families of any individuals listed above. Entries must be accompanied by the individual’s full name, postal address, email address (if entry was submitted electronically), and date of birth. Entrants certify that the cartoon submitted as their entry is their own creation, has not been published elsewhere in any printed or electronic form, and is not subject to copyright by any third party. By submitting their entry entrants agree to transfer copyright in the submitted work to the Council for Secular Humanism unconditionally.

How will prizes be awarded? Prizes will be announced on the Council for Secular Humanism Web site and by other means on Monday, March 29, 2010. The top three entries in each category (amateur and professional) will be published in Free Inquiry magazine and on the Council for Secular Humanism and Center for Inquiry Web sites. Monetary prizes will be paid by checks denominated in U. S. dollars and drawn on a U. S. bank. Tax liabilities associated with monetary prizes received shall be the sole responsibility of the winner. Any charges for currency conversion or other financial services that may be required by any winner living outside the United States of America will be the sole responsibility of that winner.

This contest is sponsored solely by the Council for Secular Humanism, and is partly underwritten by a generous grant from the Andrew Norman Foundation.