After seeing his group's banner torn down and display vandalized, SFU Skeptics Vice President Jakob Liljenwall wrote this tongue-in-cheek open letter to those responsible:

Dear Vandal(s),

We, the SFU Skeptics, could not help but notice that our banner was once again affected by your handiwork last week. While your first work directly recontextualized the banner itself (from the context of hanging up to the context of being crumpled up on the floor), this latest piece seems to consist of an abstract expressionist addendum to the glass display case in which the banner was kept, obscuring part of the message only as long as it remained mounted. Now that the banner has been removed, your painted addition is more curiosity than commentary.

Obviously, the SFU Skeptics recognize your work for the well-considered art that it is, though others might mistake it for a cowardly and infantile act of aggression against some rather mundane ideas. Ideas are of course the key here, and so we cordially offer you an opportunity to express your own. So far the medium of vandalism appears to have served you well; we are acutely aware that you disagree with the text on our banner. Unfortunately, your own ideas have not been clearly articulated by acts of simple contrarianism, and we believe that an experiment in another medium might rectify this.

Specifically, we would like to invite you to stage a piece of performance art with us. In particular, we had in mind the sort often referred to as a “discussion” and engaged in by those who identify as “adults”. You need bring only yourself and your ideas; the club will provide finger paints so long you express an understanding that they are not to be eaten. We are eagerly looking forward to this collaboration. You may RSVP either by email or prank phone call.

Sincerely,
The SFU Skeptics

Jakob Liljenwall is a founding member and current Vice President of the Simon Fraser University Skeptics in Vancouver BC. He is also a volunteer for CFI, Vancouver.

by Frank Bellamy

Justice Stevens concludes one of his last concurring opinions with the observation that “the ... argument [the Christian Legal Society chapter at Hastings College of Law] presses, however, is hardly limited to these facts. Other groups may exclude or mistreat Jews, blacks and women – or those who do not share their contempt for Jews, blacks, and women. A free society must tolerate such groups. It need not subsidize them, give them its official imprimatur, or grant them equal access to law school facilities.” I agree that society need not give its support to such groups. What strikes me about this case, however, is that there is no indication that the Christian Legal Society (CLS) has mistreated, shown contempt for, or in any significant sense excluded non-christians or homosexuals.

by Leslie A. Zukor

David Iacoviello poses with his scholarship certificate

Congratulations to David Iacoviello, the 2010 American Atheists scholarship runner-up.  Each year, American Atheists gives three prizes to nontheists who have distinguished themselves via their activism.  In the past, the organization has given out a $2,000 Founders’ Scholarship first prize, a $1,000 runner-up award, and a $1,000 Chinn Scholarship to an outstanding gay/lesbian atheist activist. However, there were no LGBT entrants this year, so American Atheists gave out two second prizes instead.  The Secular Student Alliance has a history of producing scholarship winners, including current SSA board members, Hemant Mehta and Andrew Cederdahl, and former board member, Becky Robinson.  The 2010 Founders’ Scholarship went to Leslie A. Zukor.  David Iacoviello and Andrew Choufrine were the runners-up.  Zukor and Choufrine will be profiled in upcoming editions of the eMpirical.