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EventsSecular Student Alliance Events CalendarSubmitted by august on Mon, 2008-09-29 01:54.
Our affiliate groups hold dozens – if not hundreds – of events every semester. Most of these events are open to the public, and often feature speakers, debates, or other fun and interesting material. We've created a special calendar to list those events that are especially exciting and interesting to the secular student. (If the embedded calendar doesn't appear, click here to visit our Google Calendar: http://www.google.com/calendar/hosted/secularstudents.org/render) ( categories: Events )
Student Atheist Leaders Invited to White House Meeting on Interfaith Service ProjectsSubmitted by Jesse Galef on Thu, 2010-06-03 20:47.
For the first time, leaders of the secular student movement were included in an invitation to the White House to participate in a meeting on interfaith service projects on college campuses. The event, held on Monday June 7th, was sponsored by the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Participating on behalf of nontheistic students were August Brunsman, Executive Director of the Secular Student Alliance, and Greg Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and Chair of the SSA Advisory Board.“Our inclusion in today’s meeting is a welcome acknowledgement that secular students have been working to make a positive difference in the world,” said Brunsman. “As more and more students openly identify as nontheistic, we are taking a greater role in the charitable interfaith community.” The meeting centered on connecting the higher education sector to broader national service priorities and creating spaces on campus to foster interfaith and community service. One stated goal was to have interfaith service programs at 500 campuses. “The secular student community is eager to help reach that goal,” said Brunsman. “We are committed to increased cooperation with religious organizations for the betterment of society. But our actions will speak louder than our words.” Almost half of the 200 Secular Student Alliance affiliates engaged in service activities the past year, and the rate of cooperation with religious groups is rising. The national SSA has encouraged such collaboration, and presented their 2008 and 2009 Best Service Project Awards to groups from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Ohio State University for partnering with Christian organizations over Spring break to rebuild houses damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Monday’s meeting marks the second time representatives from the Secular Student Alliance were invited to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Last February, they took part of the Secular Coalition for America’s official policy briefing with the administration. Objectivism: Group Discussion GuideSubmitted by nsmauger on Thu, 2010-05-27 23:12.
Breaking up if Meetings get too LargeSubmitted by nsmauger on Sun, 2010-05-16 04:06.
Discussion Meeting ModerationSubmitted by nsmauger on Wed, 2010-05-12 11:04.
It is often said that trying to organize freethinkers behind a common goal is a task akin to herding cats. Trying to get them to stay on topic at a discussion meeting can be a similar headache. Rather than deal with the constant chaos that will ensue at an unstructured discussion meeting, it makes sense to appoint one person to be a moderator who can guide the discussion should it go too far astray. Using Visual Aids for DiscussionSubmitted by nsmauger on Tue, 2010-05-11 02:11.
Animal Rights: Group Discussion GuideSubmitted by nsmauger on Mon, 2010-05-10 00:34.
Advice for Everyone Draw Muhammad DaySubmitted by Jesse Galef on Sat, 2010-05-08 02:49.
![]() Controversy exploded late April after South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker received death threats for including a depiction of Islam's prophet in a recent episode. To show solidarity and support free speech in the face of these death threats, Secular Student Alliance affiliates at UIUC, UW-Madison, and Northwestern each sponsored events in which they went around campus chalking stick figures labeled "Muhammad." These actions were controversial within each group and drew responses from the respective schools' Muslim Student Associations. ![]() Other secular student groups have expressed interest in participating in “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” on May 20th, 2010. Deciding if and how your group wants to get involved is obviously completely up to your group. However, since it’s an event which can easily elicit negative feelings and divide groups if you're not careful, here are some suggestions which will help you effectively convey your message if you choose to participate:
Secular Students Drawing Muhammad in Solidarity with Threatened South Park CreatorsSubmitted by Jesse Galef on Thu, 2010-05-06 20:02.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jesse Galef (614) 441-9588 x1 jesse@secularstudents.org – www.secularstudents.org May, 12 2010 ![]() Secular Student Alliance affiliates ignited controversy this month by drawing the Muslim prophet Muhammad to show solidarity with South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, who recently received death threats for their portrayals. Groups at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Northwestern University used chalk to draw hundreds of smiling stick figures labeled “Muhammad” around campus accompanied by messages in support of free speech without intimidation. “The best response to intimidation is unity,” said Jesse Galef, Communications Director for the Secular Student Alliance. “Threats of violence should never be used to stifle expression, and we stand together in denouncing them.” After Stone and Parker featured Muhammad in their 200th episode of South Park, an American Muslim group named Revolution Muslim warned the cartoonists that they would likely end up like Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was murdered for producing a film critical of Islam. The group also posted images of the murder along with Stone and Parkers’ home and office addresses. Author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who is an ex-Muslim and a former member of the Dutch Parliament, encouraged a “solidarity campaign” in a Wall Street Journal Op Ed. She suggested that people feature Muhammad in non-insulting ways to spread the risk of attack. “The point of the matter is that we have allowed, as a culture, for intimidation and fear-mongering to compromise our freedom of expression,” said Cassy Byrne, president of Northwestern University Secular Humanists for Inquiry & FreeThought (SHIFT). “When threats of violence are made and are taken seriously, the intimidated party renders the intimidating party more powerful.” Today, the Secular Student Alliance, the national nonprofit umbrella organization devoted to supporting groups for nonreligious students, sent out recommendations to their affiliates that wish to participate. Among the recommendations, participants are encouraged to be respectful and reach out to Muslim groups on campus to make their intentions clear. All three participating groups posted statements of purpose on their websites and have been in direct contact with their respective Muslim Student Associations to explain the context of the message. Despite the outreach, the chalking has elicited pushback. Drawings at all three schools have been deliberately erased or vandalized. At the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the Muslim Student Association denounced the event and mobilized its members to follow secular students and alter the drawings. A grassroots campaign has formed to declare May 20th “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day.” More secular student groups are expected to participate. The Secular Student Alliance recommendations to their affiliates can be found on their website at http://www.secularstudents.org/DrawingTheProphet ### The Secular Student Alliance, based in Columbus OH, supports a network of over 200 campus groups for atheist, agnostic and humanist students. The Secular Student Alliance envisions a future in which nontheistic students are respected voices in public discourse and vital partners in the secular movement's charge against irrationality and dogma. www.secularstudents.org SHIFT Hosts Health Care Discussion with Utah RepresentativeSubmitted by Luis on Tue, 2010-04-20 23:12.
by Elaine Ball Last semester SHIFT (Secular Humanism, Inquiry and Freethought) held an informative and engaging health care event. At this event we welcomed Representative Brian King, of the Utah House of Representatives District 28, to address and lead our group in an interactive discussion, following which we showed the documentary Sicko, by Michael Moore's homepage. We advertised the event to our group and posted flyers to invite the campus community at large, and were pleased to have approximately 20 in attendance for the event. |
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