Secular Student Alliance - Events

Schedule for Secular Student Alliance Programming at 2008 Conference

27-May-2008

The 2008 Secular Student Alliance conference is being held jointly with the International Humanist and Ethical Union's 17th World Humanist Congress, the American Humanist Association's 67th Annual National Conference and the IHEYO's 5th International Youth Conference.

Students with a valid student ID can register for the whole event (including two meals) for only $40 (as compared to $299 for non-students). This price gives students access to the entire conference* which starts at 9 a.m. on the morning of June 6th (Friday) and goes until the early afternoon of June 8th (Sunday). There is a tentative schedule of the AHA and IHEU events on the AHA's website. Students are very welcome to attend any AHA and IHEU events except for their board and membership meetings (which require membership in those organizations).

IHS Grant Backs Ugandan Student Humanist Group

18-May-2008

Betty Nassaka

The SSA has affiliates all over the world - including several in Africa. Betty Nassaka, chairperson of the Ugandan Humanist Effort to Save Women (UHESWO), sends along this brief summary of her group's successes on campus, as well as some great photos!

The Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS) gave UHESWO a grant to establish its branch at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. UHESWO is to use this grant to implement a one-year project aiming at empowering female freshmen at Makerere University to embrace the humanistic virtues of human rights, self-help, self-reliance, tolerance, courage, science and reason.

Open Call for Humanist Life Stories

17-May-2008

Are you a humanist with a story to tell? The Humanist Community in Silicon Valley has a project that just might be up your alley. Read on for details!

Dear fellow humanist,

We, Arthur Jackson (president) and Armineh Noravian (vice president) of the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley, California, wish to share an exciting idea with you. Our constant search for ideas to promote Humanism has led us to the realization that one important area is the manner in which Humanists deal with difficult or unusual life circumstances. We believe that sharing such experiences will provide important models of how Humanists live with life's challenges without divine guidance.

The Blogging of a Secular Lobbyist

17-May-2008

Lori Lipman Brown is Director of the Secular Coalition for America, where she serves as the first Congressional lobbyist representing atheists. She is also a speaker on the SSA's Speaker's Bureau. She writes a weekly blog for The Humanist; we reprint select articles with permission.

Speakers Bureau Spotlight: Andy Thomson

17-April-2008

Charlottesville, Virginia

Dr. Thomson is a psychiatrist in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has a private practice of general psychiatry and forensic psychiatry as well as serving as a staff psychiatrist at the University of Virginia's Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy and the Counseling and Psychological Services of the University of Virginia Student Health Services. Born in Washington, D.C. he received his B.A. degree from Duke University and his M.D. from University of Virginia School of Medicine. Robert Wright's book The Moral Animal introduced him to the emerging discipline of evolutionary psychology. It is that new lens of evolutionary psychology that informs his recent work on a comprehensive psychological formulation of suicide terrorism. He is a board member of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

Atheism and Politics get Complicated in Illinois

15-April-2008

As a resident of Illinois, eMpirical Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth R.A. Liddell has been paying close attention to the recent controversy surrounding Illinois representative Monique Davis and atheist activist Rob Sherman. Here, she explains what's been happening and outlines a few things we can all learn.

Rob Sherman, atheist activist

Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein on Speaking of Faith

3-April-2008

In the last week of March, American Public Media's program Speaking of Faith featured Harvard University's Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein and humanism. The program is available online and was broadcast on public radio stations nationwide.

In a recent Pew poll, 16 percent of Americans identified themselves as "unaffiliated," meaning atheist, agnostic, or - most prominently - "nothing in particular." Greg Epstein described himself that way until he discovered the tradition of humanism, and is now passionate about sharing an atheist identity driven not by a stance against religion but by positive ethical beliefs and actions.

Secular Student Alliance Conference - June 2008

1-April-2008

It's hard for us at Secular Student Alliance Headquarters to believe that it's been almost eleven months since we were at the New Humanism conference at Harvard. In less than two months we're going be at E Pluribus Unum: Reclaiming Humanist Values. This event will simultaneously be the 67th annual conference of the American Humanist Association, the 17th World Congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and the 8th annual conference of the Secular Student Alliance. The event will be June 5th through the 8th at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC.

SPEAKERS

Speakers for the event include Lori Lipman Brown of the Secular Coalition for America, Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin, Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal.

AWARDEES

Accepting the Humanist of the Year award is U.S. Representative Pete Stark, the first openly nontheistic member in Congress. Accepting the International Humanist Award is author Philip Pullman, author of the best-selling book The Golden Compass, now a major motion picture.

TRAVEL GRANTS

Student registration is only $40 and includes some meals (register today). We are offering $100 and $200 travel grants. The grants are awarded on a rolling basis and will go fast. Apply today for your 2008 conference travel grant! Information on affordable student housing can be found on the conference website.

CAMPUS GROUP BEST AWARDS

At all of our conference, the Secular Student Alliance awards a handful of its affiliate groups for outstanding performance in various areas and we give one group the Best Affiliate award. There are four awards for $300 each and the Best Affiliate award is $500. All the awards come with a nice, shiny plaque. May 1st 2008 is the deadline to apply. Learn more about the awards and apply today.

Richard Dawkins in Madison, WI

29-March-2008

Phil Ferguson is one of the newest members of the Secular Student Alliance's Board of Directors. On March 11, he saw Richard Dawkins speak in Madison, Wisconsin.

Richard Dawkins is on a speaking tour to promote the paperback release of The God Delusion, sponsored in part by the Secular Student Alliance. On March 11th, Mr. Dawkins was in Madison, WI and I only had to drive five hours to see him. I arrived in Madison early to take Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and Debbie Goddard from the Center for Inquiry to lunch. Upon my arrival, I was informed that Mr. Dawkins would also be joining us.

Ellery Schempp Speaks at the University of Texas-Arlington

29-March-2008

This article originally appeared in the Feb. 29, 2008 issue of The Shorthorn, and is used by permission.

Article by Jhericca Johnson, The Shorthorn staff

Dr. Ellery Schempp, Senior Partner for Harvard Consulting Group, speaks about religious prayers in school Thursday at the University Center Red River room. Schempp is known for the 1963 Supreme Court case of Abington School District v. Schempp, in which school prayer was ruled as unconstitutional. (c) The Shorthorn: Rasy Ran

When Ellery Schempp’s high school required students to read ten Bible verses every morning “to learn valuable moral lessons,” he began to wonder if the students of Abington High School had fewer morals than students everywhere else.

Schempp was the main student involved in the 1963 Abington School District v. Schempp Supreme Court case which declared school-sanctioned Bible reading unconstitutional. He spoke Thursday in the University Center Red River Room to tell the campus community about his experience.

At the event, which was sponsored by Freethinkers of UTA, Schempp told students how the event occurred and his thoughts during the case.

In 1956, Schempp was a student in the Abington School District in Abington, Pennsylvania, and was told to read Bible verses every morning. On the Monday after Thanksgiving break, Schempp decided to bring a copy of the Quran to school and read it instead. His said his decision came from reading the First Amendment of the constitution and his own religious choice — Unitarianism.

“There is nothing in the constitution about the Bible, and there is nothing in the Bible about democracy,” he said. “And the word ‘religion’ is only in the constitution twice — in the First Amendment and the Sixth.”

After bringing the Quran to school and reading it quietly to himself, Schempp stayed seated while his classmates said the Lord’s Prayer and stood up for the Pledge of Allegiance. Immediately, his teacher asked him why he was disobeying.

Once he explained his position, Schempp was sent to the school disciplinarian.

“He told me that there were 1,300 other students following the rule and that it was all a matter of respect,” he said. “He said that he felt like I was being disrespectful.”

Read our other coverage of
Ellery Schempp's case!

Darwin Day Celebrations at UTA

28-March-2008

Secular Student Alliance Board Secretary Becky Robinson leads the Freethinkers of the University of Texas at Arlington. Here, she writes about her group's exciting and successful events on Darwin Day this year.

As we did last year, the Freethinkers of the University of Texas at Arlington planned an all-day Darwin Day event on February 12th, the 199th birthday of Charles Darwin. We hoped to spread awareness of science and education, mixed in with some political activism and good old celebration with birthday cake!

2008 Conference Travel Grant Application

12-March-2008

We're sorry, but the travel grant deadline has passed and there are no more travel grants available at this time.
Even though you will have to pay your own way, we still think you will have a spectacular time at our 2008 conference and we invite you to join us there.

Dawkins University Tour Schedule

1-March-2008

The Secular Student Alliance is pleased to announce a series of upcoming campus events featuring Richard Dawkins, renowned scientist and public intellectual, discussing The God Delusion and the state of science education. These appearances are hosted and organized by various local and national organizations. All events are free, but tickets and pre-registration are required at many of the venues. Events are being held at the locations below:

Campus Organizer Update: Neil Polzin, Southern California

28-February-2008

Every month, our Southern California Campus Organizer Neil Polzin writes an update describing what he and the groups in his area have been up to.

February 25, 2008 – Charging Onward

We are charging at the new year, along with it's new challenges. Now, going into March, even the last of the community colleges have returned from break, meaning school is back into full swing here in Southern California.

Humanists Promote Science-based Legislation on Darwin's Birthday

27-February-2008

On Feb. 12, 2008, the Institute for Humanist Studies (IHS), hosted the first ever Humanist Legislative Advocacy Day.

Humanist activists in New York state came to Albany to persuade their elected representatives to support such issues as: access to emergency contraceptives; same sex marriage legislation; comprehensive sex education in the schools; and expanding therapeutic embryonic stem cell research.

"Today, you've made history, the largest minority group never to be counted was heard," said Matt Cherry, at an afternoon press conference in the Legislative Office Building.