Ohio State University Students Celebrate National Day of Reason

Submitted by Lyz on Thu, 2007-05-17 20:22.

This article originally appeared in the SSA eMpirical No. 19 - After the Conference.

Many religious groups celebrate May 3 as the National Day of Prayer. Atheists, humanists and freethinkers celebrate the same day as the National Day of Reason. Margaret Chinn is the chair of Students for Freethought at The Ohio State University, and writes about her group’s busy day!

On May 3, 2007 members of Students For Freethought, the campus secular activist group at the Ohio State University, engaged in a day of action. The day began with a protest at Ohios's Capital Building in response to the National Day of Prayer celebration. The attending students held signs advocating the separation of religion and government by quoting famous founding fathers, and our founders desire to establish ours as a secular nation. One member of Students For Freethought was interviewed by the attending media at the protest, and appeared on the 8pm Ohio News Network. After this event, the students left to go donate blood in an effort to engage in positive action, and protest passive prayer.

Don Sutterfield donates blood as an active alternative
to prayer on the National Day of Reason.

The students also took time that afternoon to plant a flower garden on the campus of Ohio State. THe garden is located in the heart of the OSU campus, near the famous Oval. Students For Freethought planted mostly pansies; the Freethought flower, but also planted a few irises, lavender, curry, lilly of the valley, and moss. Students for Freethought hopes that the days events, from the protest, to the blood drive, to the planting of the flower garden will be a long standing standing symbol that freethinkers and atheists contribute to the health and well-being of our society. These students also hope that this day of action will show that secularists are willing to give their time, energy, and even their own blood to show their solidarity for humankind.

Alexa, Ben, Tara, Anton, and Robin gardening on OSU’s campus on the National Day of Reason.

Gardeners were Tara Legg, Alexa DiNicola, Ben Meyer, Ashley (from the Rational Response Squad), Robin Tarter, Anton Mates, Don Sutterfield, Margaret Chinn, and Bob Rheem (from the Humanist Community of Central Ohio).

This article originally appeared in the SSA eMpirical No. 19 - After the Conference.

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